Kagiju Tales
by Cole Tyger
Summary: a fanfic that introduces the then new characters of Mazin-kaze and Jura to the ranks of the K-girls of Neo Monster Island contains 4 main chapters A New Wind, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, and Heavy Metal
1. Chapter 1

A New Wind

Neo Monster Island. Just the mention of this place conjures images of giant robots, even bigger monsters, and their human sized counterparts. As well as the massive destruction that always follows in the wake of such things. This is a tale of one of the more widely known families on the island, but from a time when family wasn't a very apt description of their relationship. Let us now look in on the mansion of the vanished Professor Nagai, and its current residents. Both, his greatest creations, and his "daughters", Mazinger Zoe, and her newly brought online prototype, Maizy.

"I'm off to the school, and I don't want you to leave the house," Zoe tells the smaller framed robot girl. "We still don't know if there are any glitches in your programming after being offline for so long, and I don't want to risk anything happening to you."

"This isn't fair! I'm the older sister here! I should be laying down the rules!" Maizy yells, stomping her foot.

"Please, just promise me that you won't leave the house while I'm gone?" Zoe asks, her voice nearly pleading.

"Fine, whatever. I promise I'll remain your prisoner while you're gone. Happy?" Maizy growls.

"Thank you for agreeing to stay," Zoe tells her, clearly _not _happy about how Maizy feels about it.

"Have a nice day, while I'm stuck here," Maizy adds, before slamming the door behind Zoe.

"Yeah, lots of fun," Zoe whispers as she starts off for the school.

"This sucks harder than that vacuum attachment the old man designed!" Maizy snarls as she stalks from room to room in the mansion. "If I wasn't stuck in this pint sized body, she couldn't order me around so easily," she grumbles as she storms into the professors old study and kicks his desk in frustration. "What the?" she says, surprised when a computer disk falls out from between two sections of the desk. Picking it up, she slides it into a hidden slot on the side of her neck, to see what is on it.

Her eyes light up brighter, and a huge grin covers her face once she realizes what she's looking at.

"The next generation design! This…..with a body like this, Zoe will _have_ to treat me as an equal!" she practically cheers. "I need to see if we have enough parts downstairs to actually build it," she whispers, before tearing out of the room and heading for the basement lab.

"Damnit. This file calls for a new alloy for both the inner frame and outer skin," Maizy growls as she searches through the materials in the basement, and compares them to what the schematics disk says she will need. "How the hell am I supposed to forge a new alloy, when we don't have any equipment to smelt metal?" she complains, pounding her fist against the wall. "Huh? What's this?" she says as she finds a note about a radio signal in the plans. "What's this supposed to do?" she wonders as she transmits the signal.

The rumble as a section of the wall sinks into the floor is almost as big a shock as the newly revealed staircase.

"Wonder what the old pervert has hidden down here? Hopefully the stuff I'll need, since the secret to opening the door was in the file," she mutters to herself as she starts down the stairs, the lights coming on as she progresses, until she finally finds the bottom. Things remain dark, until she takes a step into the room. The sudden flash of light blinds her optics for a moment.

"_JACKPOT!_" she cheers as she gets a look at the equipment in the chamber, especially the partially completed body laying on the work table.

Rushing over, Maizy quickly shoves a crate next to the table, and hops up on it, "Stupid short legs," she mutters darkly as she starts to scan the incomplete body. "This is great! I can have this ready for my mind in a couple of weeks! And the weapons and armor are already done, I just have to install them!" she says as she quickly bounces from table to table, inspecting their contents.

Then a small alarm sounds in her ear, bringing her up short. "What? Not now!" she cries. "Damnit! I've got to hide all this, or else she will keep me from doing it," she says, igniting her flight pack and jetting back up the stairs, transmitting the signal that opens and closes the wall as she clears the doorway.

She makes it to the top of the stairs back into the house proper before Zoe opens the door.

"There you are!" Zoe says, relief in her voice. "I was starting to get worried."

"I was practicing with my flight pack. Since I can't go outside, I thought the biggest room in the house would work," Maizy returns, quickly thinking of a reason for her to be down here, and the lingering traces of exhaust from her flight pack.

"Well that's good. If you'd like, I could help you set up some kind of test course down here, some rings and markers or something for you to practice fine control," Zoe offers.

"I guess," Maizy responds, actually surprised that Zoe bought her lie. "It would give me something to do besides stare at the walls and explore the house all day."

"Yeah, it only takes about half a day before exploring the house gets boring," Zoe agrees. "That's how long it took me to look the place over when they sent me back home," she adds, slightly wistful for the life that she had before. "But part of what I found during that time was _you_, sis, so I'm not going to complain about it."

"Thanks," Maizy says, suddenly feeling a little bad about keeping her plans hidden.

"But for now, I brought some pizza home, so let's go eat," Zoe tells her.

"Race ya!" Maizy smirks, before igniting her flight pack and racing back up the stairs.

"Hey! No fair squirt! The wings on my pack are too big for me to do that!" Zoe cries as she sprints after her smaller sister.

"It took me a month, but she's finally ready for me," Maizy says as she closes an access panel over the new body's belly area. Dusting off her hands, she quickly hops down from her perch, and races back up the stairs from the hidden lab, before Zoe can return, and find out about her secret project.

"_It would have been done so much sooner if I wasn't keeping up with this flight practice_," she thinks, flipping herself through the hanging rings, and down to the farthest reaches of the basement, where Zoe had set up a shooting range for her to practice on. Burning down five of the cardboard targets in a single pass, without scorching the statue in the middle that was supposed to represent a non-combatant, Maizy flies toward the wall, and flips herself so that she impacts the wall feet first, then takes off again flying to the stairs. "_Now to go make sure that she still doesn't suspect anything,"_ she thinks as she heads up the stairs so that she can be found brooding in the living room.

"_Now then, just what has she been up to down here?"_ Zoe thinks as she emerges from her hiding place. Pride surges through her as she recalls Maizy's display of prowess before she went upstairs, but the fact that she was in a part of the mansion that Zoe wasn't even aware existed, _and_ that she had kept its discovery from Zoe filled her with apprehension.

Moving to the section of wall that she had seen move, she sends a recording of Maizy's radio signal password, causing the wall to open for her, and reveal the stairs to the hidden lab.

"Dear lord, was she really this upset with being in a smaller body? If this Mazinger model was a real human, she would be called an Amazon," Zoe whispers in shock as she takes in the newly completed form of the final model of Professor Nagai's Mazinger series cyber doll.

Quickly moving over to the diagnostic displays, Zoe rapidly works her way through the data, shocked at how powerful this model is.

"My gods, not only is this thing an order of magnitude stronger than _me_, if these displays are correct, it can take everything I can throw at it and pretty much shrug it off! Does she hate me so much that she wants this much power?" Zoe can't help but wonder, as she stares in shocked awe at the soulless form before her, and contemplates the raw power it possess.

With a deep sigh, she reaches a decision.

"She can't be trusted with her current powers yet, there isn't any way I can allow her to make this body her own. So I'll just start the process for making her a third sister. All be it, with a considerable time lag, so that I can monitor things if I need to speed the process up," she says, attaching one of the cables hooked to the new body's head, to one of her own data ports. "Once the sentience program is activated, she won't be able to dump her mind into this body without killing the new personality that is forming. And if her performance with her weapons is any indication, in that respect at least, she's as good as I could hope for."

Once Zoe has started the program running in the new body, she places lockdown codes on its activation systems, making it so that only she can initiate a start up on the new cyber doll. Then she places the inert form into what amounts to a storage coffin, and locking that down as well. Then Zoe moves to the hidden labs main computer, and changes the access code, and radio frequency, making triply sure that Maizy is no longer able to continue with her little project.

"Now, to go back upstairs and pretend that I don't know anything about this," she mutters dejectedly, trudging up the stairs.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Zoe asks, as she prepares to leave for the school.

"Just another day of stupid drills in the basement, and using my communications suit to surf the internet," Maizy answers with her normal tone of disgust, while secretly she just wants Zoe to leave, so she can get on with the final stage of her project.

"Have fun then," Zoe says as she closes the door. Then she maximizes the sensitivity of her audio sensors, so that she can hear the muffled "clumps" as Maizy sprints to the basement stairs and starts down. Zoe hangs her head in despair, then reopens the door and heads back in, with considerably more stealth than her sister.

"What the blinking hell is wrong with this thing!" Maizy screams in frustration, as she tries repeatedly to access the hidden lab.

"Your little project has been cancelled," Zoe calmly informs her as she slowly walks down the stairs.

Maizy spins around, what color there is to her silver complexion draining away at the sound of Zoe's voice. "You didn't….." Maizy trails off.

"Destroy her? No I didn't. I merely made sure that you couldn't follow through with your plan to dump your mind into her body," Zoe tells her.

"Why! Why did you have to ruin everything? You where supposed to come home to find someone you could look at like an equal, not a half pint kid," Maizy nearly cries.

"An equal? With someone who would do this behind my back? This is the kind of thing that I'm so worried about you know. How many times have you lied to me during the course of this little project of yours? And you want me to trust someone like that with the immense power that has been built into that new cyber doll?" Zoe asks, tears rolling down her face, despite her utterly calm voice. "As soon as I get home, we are going to start a monthly schedule of diagnostic checks of your programming. Until I feel that I can trust you, you are not to leave this house under any circumstances. Is that clear?" Zoe demands, her voice going harder than steel.

"Crystal," Maizy mutters, all her dreams of what she could accomplish with her new form going up in smoke before her mind's eye.

Chapter 2

More than a year has passed since the events in the hidden lab. Maizy has earned Zoe's trust, and Zoe has earned Maizy's respect. While the smaller cyber doll is still prone to fly off the handle at being called the "little sister" their family life has improved immensely, with both sharing tails of adventures with their respective friends. While they both still have secrets they don't wish to share (Zoe's current place of employment, and some of Maizy's riskier money making ventures toping the lists), both Mazinger girls are fairly happy with how things are going.

Until Kiga escapes once more.

The ensuing brawl leaves Zoe badly damaged, and depleted of energy, making it Maizy's turn to care for her for a while.

"I still think it was un-necessary for you to go personally," Maizy says as she helps Zoe back into the mansion, and helps her hook up to one of the diagnostic displays that they have moved up into the main part of the house.

"It's just something I had to do," Zoe tells her, sounding weary. "After what she did this time, I had to make sure, personally, that she wouldn't be getting free again anytime soon. We need to make the best use we can of what time we have until that happens."

"Jeez, your power core is still only operating at thirty five percent, and your repair systems have barely managed to put your motor functions back together, let alone your weapon systems," Maizy tells her, reading the displayed information.

"Well that explains why I still feel like road kill," Zoe jokes.

"This isn't funny. If it was me in this kind of shape, you would forbid me from doing anything, and probably take me offline until my systems had recovered," Maizy tells her.

"You're right," Zoe admits. "So I guess it's a good thing that you where over with Immomu the night of the battle. I still can't believe that she shrugged off _two_ Thunder Breaks, and stopped Kim's best attack cold."

"Your joking right?" Maizy asks, sounding shook. "There isn't any way she could be that strong. I thought she managed to beat on that many of you because you where trying to avoid killing her."

"I wish that was the reason. To put it in every day terms, we were getting our asses owned by her," Zoe confirms. "We are going to need more help if we are going to keep the next breakout from becoming a complete blood bath. It was pure luck that Musume somehow accessed that hidden power, and took Kiga down this time. We may not be so lucky next time."

"Any ideas?" Maizy asks, not any happier than Zoe at the implications of Kiga on the loose, and looking to kill those she cares about.

"Just one. Help me down to the basement," Zoe tells her as she unplugs the diagnostic cable from her arm port.

"Why?" Maizy asks, helping Zoe to her feet.

"Because I think it's time we welcomed our sister into the world," Zoe tells her.

"What sister?" Maizy demands. "You and I are the only…You didn't…"

"Didn't what? Download a copy of the same program that brought you to self aware life? Make sure that it was running before I powered her down and locked her away?" Zoe asks. "Yes, I did all of those things. And at this point, I'm actually kind of glad that you found that disk, and completed her construction, even if your motives at the time where less than angelic."

"So the battle body that I built in the hidden lab…" Maizy trails off.

"Has been becoming self aware for the last year," Zoe confirms.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Maizy asks.

"Because, at the time, you where less than trustworthy. A condition that I am pleased beyond words has changed," Zoe answers, giving her sister a tired, but very real smile. "And to be honest, there hasn't been a reason to bring up bad memories about the subject until now."

"But how do we get in? You scrambled all the codes I used to access the place," Maizy reminds her.

"Like this," Zoe says as she access a triply encrypted file, and sends a shifting radio signal.

In response, a section of the basement wall once again lowers itself into the floor, and reveals the hidden stairwell to the secret lab.

"Let's go," Maizy says, clearly not happy about revisiting the site of one of her biggest mistakes.

Zoe just nods, and with Maizy's help, limps down the stairs.

"Just like I left her," Zoe says as Maizy hops up on her block, and blows the dust from the storage coffin's clear view plate.

"I hope she is better adjusted than I was," Maizy whispers, remembering just what kind of a spiteful little bitch she was when she first came online.

"I checked out your work kiddo, and I doubt the Prof could have done better himself," Zoe reassures her.

"Don't call me a kid," Maizy warns, a smirk offsetting the dark tone of her voice.

"Sorry," Zoe grins. "Now then, let's hatch her out of this, and wake her up."

Fingers dancing across the locks keypad, Zoe quickly inputs the codes needed to release their sister, and bring her into the real world, from the cyber sleep she's been trapped in for the last year.

As the coffin opens, both cyber girls are nearly knocked off their feet by the blast of music that erupts from their sleeping sister.

"How is it possible for her to be playing a song from a game that is only nine months old?" Maizy yells, only to have Zoe shake her head in bewilderment, as Redemption, the ending theme of the game, Dirge of Cerberus continues to play through its conclusion. Following that are several more songs, in both Japanese and English.

"What in the gay blue hell was that?" Maizy demands, and the optics of their new sister finally light up, and she fully comes on line.

Before Zoe can say anything, the new girl answers, "That was just a small sample of the music that I've been playing in the back of my mind for the last year."

"You've been online this whole time?" both Zoe and Maizy gasp.

"Well, duh. When whoever dumped that program into my head, then shut my body down, they didn't take into account that the program would need to keep my cyber brain online in order to complete its work. So while my body has been setting here, I managed to access some of the other programming that was installed, and got access to the web," she explains as she sits up.

"What other programming?" Zoe demands.

"Um…that would be the half dozen different "code breaker" programs I installed the day before you found out about her," Maizy admits. "It was meant to be a counter measure if you tried to lock me up after the change over."

"You are far too clever for your own good," Zoe tells the smaller cyber girl, irritation and affection warring in her tone.

"So anyway, I've been on the information super highway since, learning my way around the world. Where exactly are we anyway? While I could access my schematics, I couldn't activate my GPS gear," their new sister asks.

"In a hidden lab under the mansion of Professor Nagai," Zoe tells her.

"Do you have a name? Or do we need to give you one?" Maizy asks her.

"'Bout time you asked little sis," she answers, causing Maizy to bristle. "The schematic said that the 'bot I was modeled after was called the MazinKaiser, so you can call me MazinKaze. Kaze for short."

"Damnit, I'm the prototype! I'm older than _BOTH _of you put together!" Maizy snarls.

Climbing out of the coffin, Kaze smiles and looks down at both of her sisters. "You may well be older, but at that size you're always going to be the little sister," she says.

"Maizy," Zoe warns. "Let it go."

"But Zoe!" Maizy starts to argue, before the look in Zoe's optics makes her drop it.

"Come on, Kaze," Zoe says as she turns toward the stairs. "We need to get you hooked up to the scanners, so we can be sure you are safe to let out of the house."

"Yeah, it took most of the year you where down here before she'd let me out," Maizy smirks.

"But I'd like to think that we both learned a lot during that time," Zoe adds.

"Doesn't matter to me," Kaze says. "After being trapped down here for as long as I have, just being able to move is a pleasure."

"You going to be alright?" Maizy asks Zoe as they work their way back up the stairs.

"I think I'm going to need to shut down for a while. I'll help you get things started, then go back up into the house to rest." Zoe tells her.

"_I've got a better idea,"_ Maizy thinks as she mentally accesses a cell phone signal and calls for some backup in dealing with her "patient". "_If Kiryuu can't keep her out of trouble, then she's going to work herself into a total shutdown."_

"Lay down over there, please," Zoe tells Kaze as Maizy concludes her call, and sets up the deep scanning probes.

"Do I _have_ to go offline again so soon?" Kaze asks, a pleading tone in her voice. "I just got to wake up after all."

Zoe and Maizy exchange a look. "Well, I suppose things will work just as well if she is online as off," Zoe admits.

Maizy turns to Kaze, and orders, "Stay here. I'll be back down to run the tests after I get her back upstairs to rest."

They make it to the top of the stairs, when the door opens for them.

"You look like you could use some TLC babe," Kiryuu tells Zoe, taking her from Maizy, and leading her into the house.

"More than you might think, Little Dragon," Zoe smiles. "And Maizy?" she calls over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Maizy calls back, her old belligerent tone resurfacing.

"Thank you," Zoe tells her, before closing the door to the basement.

"No problem," she whispers to herself, before turning back to Kaze. "You. On the table. Now," she orders.

"Yes ma'am," Kaze smirks as she gives her older and smaller sibling a rather sarcastic salute before following her orders.

It takes the better part of several hours, and a quick run through of Maizy's old shooting range, before the smaller cyber doll grudgingly admits," I think you're good to go."

"Cool? When do I get to leave?" Kaze asks, really wanting to get out and experience the world she knows only through the internet.

"You can leave the house and explore the grounds tomorrow. But you can't go to town until Zoe is well enough to come with us," Maizy tells her.

"What's wrong with her?" Kaze asks.

"She got busted up pretty bad in a fight," Maizy admits. "And she keeps pushing herself, rather than letting her body repair itself."

"And who was the other mech? The one you handed her off to?" Kaze asks.

"That would be Kiryuu. Zoe's girlfriend." Maizy answers. "But for now, it's time to go offline for a while. Can I trust you to not try to sneak out?" she asks.

"You have my word that I won't try to leave without you," Kaze tells her.

"From one Mazinger to another, I'll take that," Maizy agrees. "Feel free to explore the house, just try not to disturb Zoe and Kiryuu. Zoe really does need the rest."

"You got it," Kaze says as she follows the smaller girl upstairs.

Chapter 3

"So what's the verdict?" Kaze asks after Maizy sees Zoe and Kiryuu out of the house.

"Zoe has a "thing" with her friends tonight after school, and I have something going tomorrow, so it's going to be this weekend before we can take you to town," Maizy tells her. "I'm sorry for the delay, but Zoe wants to turn it into a family thing, so I can't just take you myself."

"Don't worry about it short round," Kaze tells her as she climbs off the couch. "Being able to move around, is enough of an improvement for me, for now. I _would_ like to be able to go outside though."

"So let's go," Maizy tells.

"But I thought," Kaze starts.

"We have a rather large yard," Maizy cuts her off, a smirk on her face. "And I really don't see how Zoe can complain if we go out and enjoy it," she concludes, enjoying watching Kaze's face light up like kid on Christmas morning.

"See you out there," Kaze says, dashing toward the door.

"Hold it!" Maizy yells, her left for arm shooting off, and grabbing Kaze's shoulder, while remaining attached to Maizy by a heavy chain.

"But you said!" Kaze says, surprised by the sudden grip.

"You didn't let me finish," Maizy smirks again, retracting her arm and walking toward her much larger sister. "Ground rules: You're not allowed out of the yard. We can use flight packs and whatever, but we KEEP IT IN THE YARD. Clear?"

"Perfectly," Kaze agrees, a huge grin on her face.

"Then let's go," Maizy smiles, as she gestures toward the door.

Kaze doesn't wait to be told again.

"This is SO much better than pictures on the 'net!" Kaze gushes as she rushes back and forth across the yard, looking at everything, and listening to the birds.

"_Was I this bad when Zoe finally let me out?_" Maizy wonders to herself. "_Nah, I was much worse."_

"So what else can we do?" Kaze asks.

"Well…" Maizy drawls as she wonders over to Kaze. "We can always play a game."

"Like what?" the taller girl asks as Maizy walks around behind her.

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" Maizy shouts, slapping Kaze's ass before dashing off.

"Oh, no you didn't, you little!" Kaze says as she spins around and dashes after the smaller girl.

"Catch me if you can," Maizy laughs as she dodges Kaze's attempts to tag her back.

"Hold still you little!" Kaze retorts as she takes another swipe at her smaller sister.

"All that power, and you can't even tag little old me," Maizy smirks over her shoulder as she ducks another swipe from the larger girl. "Let's kick it up a notch," She says before leaping up, igniting her flight pack, and taking to the sky.

"Get back here you!" Kaze yells, igniting her own flight pack.

"Let's make it more interesting!" Maizy calls. "Rocket punches are allowed, but no other weapons!"

"Works for me," Kaze grins, as her forearm armor starts to spin around her arm. With no more warning, both of her lower arms launch, her apparent intent being to clip Maizy's wings.

"Have to do better than that," Maizy grins, banking so that both punches miss her on either side, before banking around hovering in mid air.

"Oh, I will," Kaze returns, bull rushing her smaller sister as her arms reattach themselves.

"Oh, please. I could dodge that in my sleep," Maizy laughs, cutting her thrusters, and dropping below Kaze's reach.

"I don't get it. I'm faster than she is, but I can't lay a finger on her," Kaze mutters as she tries again and again to tag Maizy.

"Getting tired yet?" Maizy taunts as she flies low to the ground toward the house.

"I've got you now!" Kaze yells, kicking her pack into afterburner as she drops in behind Maizy.

"Think so?" Maize returns, cutting her jets as she pulls up, her feet hitting the ground just long enough for her to leap up, before kicking her flight pack back into full boost.

"How the hell!" Kaze yells as Maizy just vanishes from in front of her, and a tree takes up her entire field of vision.

Then she becomes one with the tree.

"Ouch. That's going to leave a mark," Maizy winces as she watches the impact. After a few moments of nothing but some of the branches shaking, Maizy lands. As her wings retract, she walks under the tree and looks up, asking, "You alright?"

"A little help please?" Kaze pleads, as she dangles from her mangled flight pack.

"You have _got _to be kidding me," Maizy mutters, as she wipes a hand down her face. "Jettison your flight pack," Maizy orders her.

"How? It's built into me, remember?" Kaze shoots back.

"Access your emergency protocols. The commands are listed there, in case of something happening that could make the flight pack explode," Maizy explains.

"Okay," Kaze says as she follows Maizy's instructions. "There, I think that's got iiiiiitt!" she ends in a yelp as she lands in an undignified heap at Maizy's feet with a thud.

"Back on your feet," Maizy tells her as she drags Kaze back to her feet.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Kaze asks as she gives her head a shake, and leans against the tree.

"You were born as a Mazinger Cyber Doll," Maizy answers. "Now then, let's see if we can get your flight pack down," Maizy continues, as large blades pop out on either side of each arm. "Get ready to catch it," Maizy orders as she launches both of her arms, the cutter blades shearing through the branches holding Kaze's flight pack. After a few moments of her arms slashing back and forth, the pack falls into Kaze's waiting arms.

"This thing is trashed," Kaze mutters as she looks over the crumpled wings, and clogged air intakes.

"That's one of the advantages of being a mecha girl," Maizy smiles. "It's relatively easy to patch us, and our parts back up after accidents."

"This can be fixed?" Kaze asks, doubtful.

"Sure. Might take a sledge hammer, and a couple of hours, but yeah," Maizy assures her. "Mostly we just need to get the wings to the point that they can be retracted, then your self-repair systems can finish repairing it."

"Cool," Kaze says, relieved.

"Did you spend a lot of your time going over your capabilities while you were trapped in your body?" Maizy asks, after a moment.

"Only about the first week after I became aware," Kaze answers. "After that I managed to get online, and spent the rest of my time learning."

"Alright," Maizy says. "Can you do this?" she asks as she launches her right arm, guiding it through several direction changes until the exhaust vapor spells out her name in the air.

"I can try," Kaze answers, her right for arm popping open and starting to rotate before launching. "It's no good," she finally admits, as her arm flies back to her.

"It looks like your biggest problem is actually controlling all that power," Maizy says after watching Kaze guide her arm through several large loops as she attempts to mimic Maizy's trick.

"How the hell did you learn to do all those tricks?" Kaze asks.

Maizy snorts, "While you were trapped on the internet, I was not allowed to leave the house. I've only been running loose for a couple of weeks," Maizy admits. "After my first big screw up, I spent most of my time trying to keep myself busy. I taught myself all kinds of things."

"What did you screw up?" Kaze asks, curiosity over coming her as she sits down under the tree to listen to Maizy tell her story.

"Damn near screwed up my relationship with Zoe for good," Maizy admits.

"How?" Kaze asks, surprised at the answer.

"I…Built you," Maizy says, her voice choking up. "When I was first activated, I hated being in this little body. I'm still not crazy about it, but I've learned to deal. Anyway, I found a disk with the plans for your body on it, and used the information to find the lab where the barest beginning of your body was. I….Kept it all secret from Zoe, but she found out anyway. I had just finished your body, and was ready to dump my mind into it when I found out that Zoe knew, and that she had sealed the lab with you in it. It's the only time I've ever seen tears on her face, and I'm the one who put them there. It took me weeks before I even began to realize how much I hurt her with that …..stupid…..plan. And it took me the rest of that year to earn her trust back. And I'm still not sure that I've done that yet. The fact that she trusts me enough to let me go to town on my own now is an improvement, but I'm still not sure I've managed to repair the damage I did back then."

"Wow…..I had no idea that you where the one that built me," Kaze says, surprised. "So, are you the one who started my programming?"

"No, that was something Zoe did after she found out what I had done," Maizy tells her. "I had no idea that she had done it until last night, when we woke you up."

"Well, I'm glad that everything worked out," Kaze says, in an attempt to lighten the smaller girls mood. "Think you can teach me some of your tricks?"

"That would depend," Maizy tells her with a smirk.

"On what?" Kaze asks, suddenly suspicious of her smaller sister.

"On whether or not you can take orders from a foul tempered, smart mouthed little android with a chip on her shoulder the size of Godzilla's foot print," Maizy answers, breaking into a grin.

"As long as she's my sister, I'll deal with it," Kaze answers, a smile growing on her own face in response.

"Then I'm going to have to leave you here for a little bit, while I run into town for some stuff," Maizy tells her.

"Um, can we get this patched up before you take off?" Kaze asks, smacking her flight pack.

"Sure. Bring it to the basement, and I'll find a B.F.H." Maizy tells her.

"Do I want to ask what that stands for?" Kaze asks.

"Big Fucking Hammer. Now get that thing downstairs, while I get what we need to beat it back into shape," Maizy tells her.

"Yes, ma'am," Kaze answers, taking her flight pack downstairs to the lab.

"Sure is quiet around here, considering that there's another body in the house," Zoe says as she closes the door behind herself.

"Keep it down, High Rise is sleeping on the couch," Maizy tells her from the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor.

"I didn't think she'd sleep any time this week after being trapped in a nonfunctional body like that," Zoe says, lowering her voice.

"Let's just say that she had a busy day, and she's earned her rest," Maizy answers cryptically.

"Do I want to even ask?" Zoe asks, her eyebrow arching.

"I took the liberty of teaching her a few things about controlling her powers," Maizy tells her.

"So how did she do?" Zoe asks, secretly pleased beyond words that the little cyber doll took the initiative to help train their new sister.

"She's got a good heart, but her skills suck. She's slow on the uptake, she doesn't adapt to changing situations very fast, and her reaction time is dismal," Maizy answers her. "Her fine control is already improving, but still sadly lacking, and at the moment, her flight pack is out of commission. She also needs to learn how to properly control her variable density New Z alloy body. That's why her flight pack is mangled"

"What did you do to her?" Zoe asks, shocked at the detailed report.

"Just played a game of tag," Maizy answers with an evil little grin.

"Try to keep from burning her out, alright?" Zoe begs.

"She's got her practice routine set for tomorrow already. I already had plans, so I gave her something to work on while we are gone," Maizy informs her.

"Do you trust her?" Zoe asks.

"Do you trust me?" Maizy returns, deadly serious.

Zoe looks at her smaller sister for a full minute before answering. "Yes. Yes I do."

"And I trust her to stay here, and work on the project I set up for her," Maizy answers, her heart soaring at Zoe's words.

"Good enough," Zoe tells her.

"Then I'm going to bed," the smaller girl says with a yawn. "It's been a long day."

And with that, Maizy leaves Zoe alone as she heads upstairs to her room.

Chapter 4

"Hey. Up and at 'em," Maizy says as she kicks Kaze's leg.

"Whu? Where am I?" Kaze blurts out as she jerks awake, looking around with wide eyes.

"You're still in the living room," Maizy returns dryly. "Now then, it's time to get back into motion, and get to work."

"Uhg. Alright Sarge," Kaze groans as she heaves herself up off the couch.

"Right this way. Your training ground awaits," Maizy smirks as she motions toward the rear of the house.

Kaze follows her through the house and out the back.

"What's all this stuff?" she asks when she spots several cases of soda, and a life guard chair with the back removed.

"What was it that you where supposed to work on today?" Maizy asks as she arches an eyebrow at her much larger sister.

"Fine control of my rocket punches," Kaze answers. "But what does this stuff have to do with that?"

"Take the chair, and a case. Put the chair about 100 meters out. Put a SINGLE can on the seat, then return here," Maizy instructs.

"Alright…." Kaze says with a sigh as she does as instructed.

After Kaze sets things up to Maizy's satisfaction, she returns to the smaller girls side.

"So have you figured out how this is supposed to work yet?" Maizy asks her.

"Just looks like a target to me. I don't see how this is supposed to help with fine control," Kaze tells her.

"Who said the point was to destroy the target?" Maizy asks as she fires off her right arm, using it to grab the can off the chair and return it to her, where she pops the top and takes a drink. "Your turn."

Kaze sets up another can, then tries her luck at Maizy's trick.

"I can do this," she tells herself as she launches her punch.

The impact turns the aluminum can into shredded metal soaked in soda.

"Power isn't always the answer," Maizy tells her. "The trick here is to pick up the can, and bring it back in one piece. This is about finesse, not power."

"I'm going to get this," Kaze growls, putting up another target, and trying again, with similar results.

"That's the spirit," Maizy grins. "Keep at it. I've got to go, but I hope to hear that you've gotten it when I get back."

"One way or another, I'm GOING to get this," Kaze tells her, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

"_I'm sure you will,_" Maizy thinks with a smile as she leaves her overpowered sister to her task.

"Damnit all to hell!" Kaze snarls after going through four cases of soda, and accidentally ripping both arms off of the chair.

"This isn't working. I need to try it from a different angle or something," she continues, thinking out loud. "And for starters, it's too damn quiet. Need music."

The relative quiet is shattered as Kaze is suddenly the source of a nonstop torrent of music. Kaze's eyes dim for a few moments, as she relaxes into the beat of her music, and finds a measure of relaxed focus that she couldn't accomplish before.

"Now, let's try this again," Kaze says as she sets up another target then retreats to her firing position. "Need to relax, and just let this work itself out," she whispers, before launching her punch once more. "Just grab the can, don't smash it," she repeats to herself.

To her own surprise, she just knocks the can off the chair this time, without obliterating it.

"Yes, I'm getting it!" she cheers as she dashes back to the chair, to put her target back up.

It takes her another two hours of trying, but she finally manages to capture the can without damaging it and brings it back to her.

"_YES!_" she cheers, holding her prize up.

Unfortunately, she gives the can a slight squeeze when she hefts it up. The poor can simply can't take both its own internal pressure, and what Kaze does to it, so it explodes in her hand, dropping its contents all over her as it erupts.

"Ewww," she complains as she shakes the sticky liquid off her hands. "Now, I need a shower," she says as she turns back to the house, and finds a bathroom.

Stripping off her armor and starting the water, Kaze takes a moment to admire her body in the mirror, before climbing under the spray to clean up.

"I owe Maizy another thank you for the way she assembled me. This body puts most of those girls online to shame," she smiles as she lathers up a washcloth and starts cleaning the soda from her body, enjoying the sensations that rubbing the cloth over her skin gives her. "Mmm, this feels pretty good. Wonder how it would feel if I adjusted a few things?" she wonders aloud as she calls up some of her systems settings and tweaks a few of them.

Her world goes white, as she is suddenly overwhelmed.

"What's so damn important that you had to use a Priority Signal to get me to come home!" Maizy snarls loud enough to be heard throughout the house as she storms in.

"Get your shiny little ass up here, we have a problem," Zoe replies over a com channel.

"What the hell?" Maizy blurts out in surprise as she finds Zoe up in one of the bedrooms, standing over Kaze as she lays on the bed twitching like an epileptic, and making low moaning noises. "What's wrong with her?" Maizy asks, suddenly concerned.

"She's trapped in some kind of feedback loop," Zoe tells her. "But I don't know why, or how it happened. I found her like this in the shower, and moved her here. Then I called you."

"Okay, do we know anything else?" Maizy asks, after absorbing that information.

"I was hoping that you might have more info for me," Zoe returns. "What was she doing today?"

"Working on fine control of her rocket punches," Maizy answers. "I set her up with some targets, and showed her what her goal was before I left." Maizy then looks back at their stricken sister, and asks something completely off topic. "Zoe, your programming is more advanced than mine in some areas. What would happen if you turned your skins sensitivity up to its highest setting?"

"A fly landing on my nose would be enough to get me off," Zoe returns after a moment of thought. Then she realizes what they are looking at. "She didn't…."

"It looks like she may have, while she was in the shower," Maizy says, poking Kaze in the breast, and watching her arch her back and gasp louder, before returning to previous condition.

"Who, boy," Zoe mutters as she stares at Kaze in disbelief.

"Can we just shut her down, and have her return her settings to normal when she comes back on line?" Maizy asks.

"No. Her systems will remember the current settings, and just re-instate them when she came back online," Zoe tells her. "We need to do something else."

"Like what?" Maizy asks, turning to look at Zoe. She is surprised to see that Zoe is taking off her clothes. "What the hell are you doing?" she demands.

"The only way to break her out of this is to make her self-preservation programming shut her down, and reset what's causing the problem," Zoe tells her, slipping off her boots. "And in order to do that, we are going to have to stimulate her until she's at risk of overloading her systems."

"You're joking, right?" Maizy asks, shocked.

"'Fraid not," Zoe answers, slipping her top off, and tossing it with the rest of her clothes. "And the fact that she's one of us, means that I'm going to need your help on this Sis."

"Life in this family defiantly doesn't stay boring for long," Maizy groans a she also strips, and climbs onto the bed.

"This will work," Zoe reassures her as she also climbs onto the bed. "I have to hold myself back from getting Kiry too hot or else she shuts down the same way. "

"Like I really needed details of your sex life," Maizy mutters, while filing the information away for later.

"You take the top," Zoe smirks, as she moves down between Kaze's legs.

"And to think, this could have been me," Maizy says, before she gives her sister a deep kiss while manipulating her breasts.

The girls keep at it through the rest of the day, and most of the night, before they finally manage to get Kaze hot enough to shut herself down, but the additional feedback from her final orgasm also shuts down both Zoe and Maizy.

Chapter 5

Static washes across Kaze's vision, as she returns to the waking world.

"_What happened? And where am I?_" she thinks as she opens her eyes and sees a strange ceiling. Then she lifts her head and looks down at herself. And the two bed mates pinning her in place.

Zoe is laying along her left side, their legs entwined, and her shoulder wedged in under Kaze's arm, using her shoulder as a pillow, leaving Kaze's arm to trail down her back. Maizy on the other hand, is actually ON the other hand. The smaller girl has both her arms and legs wrapped around Kaze's right arm, like it's her favorite stuffed animal, her back tight against Kaze's side.

"_Wakey, wakey,_" Kaze thinks with a grin as she uses her fingers to penetrate both her sisters. Zoe lets out a little "eep!" as Kaze sticks a finger in her back door, while Maizy gasps, and jerks awake, only to start moaning as Kaze continues to tickle her insides.

"Now that I have your attention," Kaze says, barely able to keep from laughing, "Think you could fill me in on what happened to me?"

"Get your finger out of my ass, and I'd be glad to," Zoe tells her, grinding her crotch down on Kaze's thigh, while forcing her thigh deeper between Kaze's legs.

Kaze's head flops back down on the bed as she deals with the added sensations Zoe is sending tripping through her body, as well as the contact buzz she's getting from playing with Maizy.

Smiling at what effect she's having, Zoe continues, "Do us a favor and never set your sensitivity levels that high again. It sent you into a feedback loop, and it took us most of yesterday, and last night to get you back out of it."

"How did you manage that?" Kaze asks, her voice shuddering.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Zoe smirks, then sucks Kaze's left breast into her mouth, and uses her tongue to give her nipple all the attention it could want.

Kaze arches her back at that, inadvertently going deeper into Maizy, and clamping down on Zoe's butt with a death grip.

"OW! That's my ass, quit trying to treat it like a squeeze toy!" Zoe yelps, while Maizy just shudders one last time and falls limp.

"Su-sorry," Kaze stutters. "That one took me by surprise."

Maizy drags herself from the bed, and over to her clothes, telling the others, "Don't forget you two, we had plans to go to town today."

"Hey, that's right!" Kaze says as she jerks upright.

"Typical. I'm the only one who doesn't get to get off this morning," Zoe scowls.

Kaze smirks at Maizy, who nods, and jerks her head at Zoe. Zoe then finds herself slammed into the mattress, her legs up over Kaze's shoulders, while Kaze goes down on her. Once Kaze reaches up for Zoe's breasts, it doesn't take long to erase Zoe's complaint.

"Maybe we should have more mornings like that," Kaze says as the three head into town at a leisurely pace. With all three in their "uniforms" they make for quite a sight walking down the street.

"Nah, Kiryuu would probably get jealous if she had to share Zoe that often. She _IS_ part Godzilla after all," Maizy smirks at her taller sisters.

"She is? I thought she was a robot?" Kaze returns.

"She is, but at her core, her skeletal system is actual bone. They found the bones of the original Godzilla, the one that was killed by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon, and managed to carve her support frame from one. It's still the toughest substance ever found, so it's not like it makes her weaker than us. On the other hand, that organic component has a few….other effects on her system that they didn't intend with her design," Zoe fills in.

"Like what?" Kaze asks, fascinated.

"Like the beast within coming to the surface whenever she gets really emotional," Maizy adds. "Or when Miss Hero over here gets her all hot and bothered."

"Maizy!" Zoe blurts out with a blush.

"Nice one little sis, you got her to blush!" Kaze grins.

"Oh, like _THAT'S_ a challenge. If I wanted too, I could give her an embarrassment melt down," Maizy continues, shooting an evil little grin over her shoulder at Zoe.

"Try it, and I'll revoke your freedom. Otherwise known as "Grounding your smug little ass"," Zoe shoots back.

"Moving on," Kaze jumps in, changing the subject before a real fight can break out, "what's the game plan for today?"

"Showing you around the town some, and then doing a bit of shopping," Zoe answers. "Maizy and I can shop most anyplace," she continues, looking up at Kaze. "You on the other hand…..I just can't see a women's "big and tall" in this country even being able to come close to having anything for you. So that leaves….."

"Darcy's!" Maizy cheers. "I've wanted to check that place out."

"How do you know about her shop?" Zoe asks.

"Imo, and Nuri. Their sisters have to shop there, even if my friends can still make do with slightly oversize regular clothes," Maizy tells her.

"Sounds like fun," Kaze enthuses with a grin. "So what's first?"

"Well, since it's getting close to lunch time, I thought we'd get some food first, then go from there," Zoe tells them.

"Shirow's?" Maizy asks, her tone saying that she doesn't expect her guess to be wrong.

"Where else are we going to be able to introduce her to pizza?" Zoe shoots back.

"Thought so," Maizy sighs, already preparing herself for Pizza to be the only food in the house.

"That stuff is Great!" Kaze enthuses.

"Told ya so," Zoe smirks.

"Yeah, yeah, let's keep it moving," Maizy grumbles.

"What's wrong?" Kaze asks her smaller sister.

"Nothing really, just feeling cranky all of a sudden," Maizy tells her, before jerking her head up and looking at Kaze. "How do you know me that well already?"

"Hey Sarge, it's not like you haven't spent any time with me," Kaze returns. "You got kind of like this when I did something stupid while you where teaching me. So what's wrong?"

"I guess….I'm feeling a little resentful of you." Maizy finally admits, both to herself, and Kaze. "Here you are, barely online a week, and Zoe and I are giving you a guided tour of the place. I've been online for more than a year, and I've barely been out of the house more than you have. It just kind of grinds, you know?"

"I can understand that," Kaze tells her, then hoists her up onto her shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down!" Mazy snarls in indignation.

"Not until you cheer up," Kaze smirks at her. "And it's not like you can't just fly off, if you want to."

"She's got you there," Zoe adds, looking up at the both of them.

"She doesn't have a choice now, she has to let me down," Maizy tells them both.

"And why is that?" Kaze asks, clearly thinking that they are trying to trick her.

"Because we've arrived," Zoe tells her, pointing to the building next to them. "This is Darcy's. And the only seamstress in town, who specializes in clothing for K-Girls."

"Then why are we here? You've told me about the K-girls, but none of us have tails, spikes, or horns, and I'd have noticed them this morning, I'm sure," Kaze returns dryly.

"That would be, because of you, Miss Teenage Amazon," Maizy shoots back. "You're not exactly built for blending into crowds. And clothes that fit your frame are going to be hard to come by off the rack."

"So Darcy is the answer," Zoe finishes as she opens the door.

Inside, the sisters find what looks like a normal clothing shop, until you look closely at some of the clothes and notice the oddly placed openings in some of them, to allow for tails, horns, and other non-human anatomic features that the K-girls are blessed (or cursed) with.

"Be with you in a moment!" a woman calls out from near the changing rooms, her accented voice sounding strange to Kaze.

"And that would be the proprietress herself," Zoe smiles.

"How often have you been here?" Maizy asks.

"I've been here a few times with Gina and Anji," Zoe answers.

"I should have it ready in a week or so," Darcy says as she leads her current customer back to the front of the store.

"Then I will check back in a week," a blue skinned redhead answers as she clears the racks and emerges into sight. The crystals that grow from each of her shoulders, as well as down her back and tail glow dimly in the lesser light of the overheads. She stops short when she gets a look at the sisters.

"Crystal," Zoe nods in greeting.

"Zoe," she returns, keeping things polite, since by unspoken assent Darcy's is neutral ground, and none of the girls want to risk damaging her shop.

"I'll be expecting you then," Darcy tells Crystal, before turning her attention to her latest customers, allowing the blue saurian girl to leave un-noticed. "So what can I do for one of the most perfect bodies in this town?" Darcy asks Zoe with a grin.

"I'm not the reason for this visit, my sister is," Zoe answers her with a matching smile.

"This little bundle of energy?" Darcy asks, referring to Maizy as she explores the shop.

"Not hardly," Maizy answers, walking over to join them.

"Then who? Last I knew, the grapevine said you only had a little sister," Darcy returns, confused.

"Don't call me that," Maizy growls.

"The grapevine is not as informed as it would like to think it is," Zoe returns, ignoring Maizy's knee jerk response to being called the little sister.

"Then you have another sister? Where is she?" Darcy asks.

"Right here," Kaze says as she stands up from where she was crouched down looking at some of the clothes.

"Whoa. Now I see why you brought her to me," Darcy says. "No way in hell any of the other women's stores would have anything for her. Compared to the locals, she's a giant."

"Exactly. When a K-girl needs clothes tailor made for them," Zoe says.

"They come to the expert. Me," Darcy grins.

"You got it. What can you do for her?" Maizy adds, looking up at Kaze.

"First things first," Darcy tells them. "Come with me, and we will try a few things, after we get your measurements."

"Alright," Kaze agrees, following Darcy toward the fitting rooms.

"Is your armor optional? Or is it a part of you like some of the other ….what's the term….mecha-girls?" Darcy asks.

"I can remove the armor," Kaze answers. "Why?"

"Because silly girl, it's far easier to design cloths, if they don't need to fit over such bulky things!" Darcy laughs, tapping her fingers against Kaze's shoulder armor.

"Oh. I didn't think of that," Kaze answers.

"Now, off with everything. I want to get you measured, so I can start working on your outfits," Darcy tells her.

"Alright. Wait, _EVERYTHING?_" Kaze blurts out, stopping in the middle of detaching the armor on her left shoulder.

"Yes, now quickly. I have much to do after all," Darcy tells her. "All the girls who come here go through this. It's the only way I can be certain that they don't tell me fibs when it comes to their details," she adds, attempting to reassure Kaze.

"Okay…." Kaze trails off, removing her helmet then her armored chest plate and the underlying stretch top, before removing the armored gauntlets that increase the power of her rocket punches. Finally removing her armored boots, and hot pants.

"I will give your designer credit for one thing," Darcy says as she watches Kaze undress. "He had an excellent eye for the female form. You and Zoe are superbly proportioned. Even if you are both a tad top heavy."

"Yeah, according to the others, the Prof. had two passions in his life. Women, and Robotics. With us, he got his chance to combine them," Kaze says, with a wry grin.

"It looks it," Darcy agrees as she motions Kaze to raise her arms. In moments, she has all the measurements she needs. "Alright, wait here for a moment, and I'll be right back with a few things for you to try on," Darcy tells her, before ducking out of the fitting room.

"Alright," Kaze says to her, only to find that she's already gone.

"Well, isn't this a fortuitous turn of events," Zoe hears from behind. Turning around, she finds Mandy, and an unfamiliar K-girl, standing near the entrance.

"Why is that, teach?" Zoe asks.

"Why don't you go look around dear," Mandy tells the new girl, before moving closer to Zoe and dropping her voice. "I have some information that I think you will find rather disturbing. I know I did."

"I'm retired, remember?" Zoe says, her tone tired.

"And this is related to something of a grudge. Between you and the leader of the Red Bamboo Army," Mandy drops her little bomb shell.

Zoe's head snaps around, and her optics glow as if she's ready to blast someone with a Photon Beam. "Spill," she orders.

"Here," Mandy says as she digs a data disk out of her purse. "The details are there, but the over view is that the girl I'm with today was raised as a prisoner at some rouge lab. Recently the place mysteriously exploded, and she was found crying her eyes out in the center of a Daikaiju sized footprint. We still haven't I. what made the print, but what concerns you most is some of the data that was recovered. There wasn't much, but it seems to point that the lab had recently allied itself with the RBA. If Melinna is correct about the time tables, it would appear that it happened shortly after your little adventure to the Americans little island monster prison."

"That crimson bitch said she would be looking into future "uses" for K-girls," Zoe growls.

"And it appears she has followed through with it," Mandy agrees with a nod. "Melinna is still digging, but this is all we have for now, except to request your help in keeping her safe. The last thing she needs is to fall back into their hands."

"No argument on that. She has already been through more than enough," Zoe agrees when an Idea hits her. "Can you arrange for her to have all the same classes as another new student?"

"A simple matter for Melinna. Why do you ask?" Mandy returns.

"Well, I have a sister that I was going to get registered for classes on Monday. If we do this, then the girl will have a Mazinger in close proximity for the majority of the day," Zoe explains.

"Interesting. I take it this new sister is a bit older looking than the one we already know about?" Mandy asks.

"Sure, rub it in," Maizy growls as she steps around a rack of clothes and into view. "Although I do have to agree that it's a good plan sis."

Mandy jumps a bit at the smaller girls sudden appearance, "Now I understand why you've kept her under wraps for so long. A Godzilla sized attitude, enough weapons to level a city block, and a cute little form that could let her in most anyplace. She could be very dangerous if she wanted to be."

"You forgot "sneaky". And we know. She was afraid I'd blast someone or something, that's why I've only been loose for a bit," Maizy returns, glossing over most of the early problems she and Zoe had.

"Anyway, I think Kaze will benefit from school, in learning how to deal with other people, and having her nearby will help lower your concerns if anyone is watching the new girl. 'Cause let's face it, I am rather well known, both in town, and by the RBA," Zoe breaks in, putting the subject back on track.

"Agreed. I'll inform the rest of the staff when I get back to the school," Mandy tells them. "Now where did she go?"

"Darcy caught her. So I imagine she's back in the fitting rooms," Maizy tells them, smirking uncontrollably for some reason.

"Oh! I'm sorry," the new girl blurts out as she walks in on Kaze. "The lady with the glasses told me to come in here and undress so she could measure me for some clothes."

Kaze barely hears her, as she continues to stare at the girl. Her eyes linger on the form barely hidden beneath the simple white dress, the nearly black skin tone, and the neon blue hair. Finally Kaze pulls herself back from the grip of the honey brown eyes, and says, "It's alright. Although I didn't realize things had gotten so busy out there that she needed to double up on the fitting rooms. By the way, my names Kaze."

"They call me Jura," the K-girl answers, as she loosens the ties that give her dorsal plates space to poke through the dress. "I had no idea clothes could be such trouble," she mutters as she fumbles around.

"Let me give you a hand," Kaze tells her as she gets up. Suddenly it's Jura, who can't take her eyes off of the other girl.

"It would help if you turned around," Kaze smiles.

"Oh! Sorry," Jura blushes, before spinning around.

"Whup!" Kaze blurts as she hops over Jura's tail. It only takes her a moment, to unfasten things for Jura. "There you go."

"Thank you. I'm….still not used to being treated like this," she mumbles.

"What was that?" Kaze asks, pretending she hadn't heard to cover up her confusion at the comment.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself," Jura says, trying to put her past behind her.

"Ah, child, I meant for you to use one of the _empty_ fitting rooms," Darcy says as she returns with some things for Kaze.

"Sorry," Jura whimpers, quickly gathering her things, before Kaze lays a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't mind sharing," Kaze tells her, a little sparkle in her eye.

"At least I made sure to make these rooms big when I had the place remodeled," Darcy comments while shaking her head. "Anyway! I want you to try this first," she says while handing Kaze a white cloth choker, with a heart shaped clasp.

"Why?" Kaze asks, looking at the strange thing, but unable to help feeling that she's seen something like it before.

"With the materials I use to make clothes that can stand up to what you girls put them through, I end up on some strange mailing lists," Darcy says, as she lays out the other clothes she brought in. "The Yanks seem to think I make combat clothes or something, so occasionally they send me strange little gadgets too. This thing is supposed to make for an instant costume change."

"So why give it to me?" Kaze asks, still not getting it.

"Silly girl. I know what kinds of things go on at that school. You said that your armor had weapons in it right? Wouldn't you like to be able to switch from my nice pretty clothes to your armor in a blink of the eye?" Darcy asks, pretty sure she already knows the answer.

"How does it work?" Jura asks, peaking over Darcy's shoulder.

"Well, if I read the instructions correctly, she needs to put just it on first, and let it scan her body. Once it knows the body, it can switch everything ON the body, with what it is holding," Darcy tells them. "But it can only hold one other outfit."

"Alright, now what" Kaze asks, having gotten the choker on, the heart along the left side of her neck.

"This," Darcy says as she stretches up and taps the heart, which causes Kaze to glow for a moment.

"And now, you get dressed!" Darcy cheerfully tells her as the glow fades. "I'm actually surprised a bit at myself today. I actually had a few things in your sizes! I was afraid that I would need to send you home without new clothes, while I made you something, but you are in luck" she says as she hands over the few clothes she had on hand.

"How did you know I like Pucca!" Kaze asks, looking at the cute little oriental girl with her slit eyes, and huge grin, adorning the front of the t-shirt Darcy hands her.

"And one of the first girls I had in here, before I started making all the measurements myself, told me a tail that ended up with this oversized pair of leather pants. They are a bit large, but once you try them on, I can fix that," Darcy says, handing over the pants. "I'm afraid that I don't have any shoes for you here, but I've got a pair on the way from a shop that makes them for me. Since you won't need the same kind that your friend here will, lacking the toe claws and stuff, you just need a pair of shoes big enough for you."

"So now that she has that stuff on, if she presses this," Jura says as she accidentally touches the heart, while pointing at it. "Her clothes disappear? That doesn't make much sense."

Darcy heaves a big sigh, before saying, "May as well put your armor back on, then we can try swapping things back to the other outfit."

"Right," Kaze agrees, grabbing at her original clothes.

"She wears armor?" Jura asks in wonder as she watches Kaze transform herself back into the imposing warrior that first entered the store.

"Sure do," Kaze answers as she puts her helmet back on. "Now, let's see if this thing works like it's supposed to," she mutters as she reaches up and taps the heart. With a bright flash, her armor is replaced by the clothes Darcy had given her. "Score one for the weird tech thingy," she says with a grin.

"Again. Just to be certain," Darcy tells her. With another flash, she is back in her armor. Seeing nothing amiss, she taps it once more, and returns to the clothes that need work.

"Looks like it's time to see what you can do with these pants," Kaze tells Darcy, while Jura just stares, amazed at what she's just witnessed.

"Yes," Darcy mutters as she immediately sets to work, tugging, folding, and pinning things into place. Once she's done, she orders Kaze to "Carefully" take them off and give them back, so she can make the needed alterations. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes," she promises as she quickly ducks out of the room.

"That was amazing! It's like magic!" Jura blurts out after Darcy vanishes.

"I'm finding a lot of things amazing myself," Kaze answers. "This is my first trip to town. How about you? Where are you from?"

"I don't know. As far back as I can remember, I lived at the lab. But that ended when it blew up about a week and a half ago," Jura tells her.

"Where you hurt?" Kaze asks, suddenly concerned.

"Not really. And when the authorities arrived, I found out that I wasn't the only person in the world like this," she answers, gesturing at her body, mostly referring to her tail and dorsal plates. "Then while I was with them, I found out so many things that I never knew about while I was a prisoner. Like chocolate. And movies! Have you ever seen a Jackie Chan movie? He's amazing!" she gushes.

"I've seen a couple," Kaze admits. "But I like Anime better. You can do more with an animated show, than you could ever hope to accomplish with live action."

"You mean like those little funny clips that they showed me? One of the people called them "cartoons", and said that the talking bunny in them was named "Bugs". Which, if you ask me, is a strange name for a bunny. Fluffy, that is a good name for a bunny," Jura rambles on.

"Most anime is a bit more involved than a Bugs Bunny cartoon," Kaze says with a smile. "Although some of them are just as silly."

"I have to admit that I didn't get most of it, but watching the funny hunter man's gun blow up in his face made me laugh," Jura admits, grinning widely at the memory.

"That is a sight gag that seems to work for everyone," Kaze agrees, grinning back.

"Here we go!" Darcy breaks in as she re-enters the room with the altered pants, and the new shoes. "That shoe place is even quicker than I expected today," she says as she sets the sneakers to the side, while handing the pants back to Kaze. Let's see how you look.

"They look like a second skin," Jura says once Kaze gets them on.

"The fit is nice. And I don't feel any bumps in the seams or anything either," Kaze tells Darcy as she moves from one side of the small room to the other.

"Well I should hope not! That would be a sign of poor quality, and I won't have that. Especially not from my own work!" Darcy answers.

"This is great! I'd like a few pairs of jeans, and at least a half dozen shirts!" Kaze tells her, beaming.

"And how do you plan to pay for all that?" Zoe asks, from outside the fitting room.

"Um…..I have no idea?" Kaze returns lamely.

"Zoe, you know full well my policy. The first outfit is free. Always," Darcy calls toward the door.

"I know, but she didn't," Zoe calls back. "So, are you going to let us get a look at you? Or do we have to use our imaginations?"

"Zoe, I've checked all the other rooms, and I can't find Jura," Mandy says in an urgent whisper as she rejoins the sisters outside the fitting rooms.

"You just wanted to give me a hard time didn't you," Kaze mutters as she opens the door and steps out for the others to get a look at her.

Mandy turns to get her first look at Kaze, then takes a step back, and tips her head up, whispering, "Good lord, she's huge!"

Kaze smirks at that, then turns back to Zoe. "Do you mind if we hang out a little longer?" she asks. "I want to see how Jura's new clothes look."

"Good, she's safe," Mandy practically wilts.

"I don't see why not," Maizy answers, looking to Zoe for the final vote.

"I don't have a problem with it," she answers. "Although I _would_ like to know where your armor is."

"Honey Flash!" Kaze says with a huge grin on her face as she touches the heart on her choker. "I knew I'd seen that design someplace before!" she giggles, before breaking into full out laughter at the reactions to her sudden transformation from tall cyber doll, to full out Mazinger Combat Mode.

"Alright, how in the bloody hell did you do that," Maizy demands, the first to recover.

"Ask Darcy," Kaze answers. "She's the one who gave me this little gadget."

"I foresee the chaos levels around the campus jumping up by an order of magnitude as soon as classes resume on Monday," Mandy mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm afraid you could be right about that," Zoe can't help but agree, still surprised by Kaze's new ability to transform from her street clothes to her armor in less than a second.

"Why are you all standing here?" Darcy demands as she exits the room. Turning to Kaze, she asks, "And why are you back in your armor? I thought you liked your new clothes?"

"I do, they just wanted to know what happened to my armor, so I showed them," Kaze explains, shifting back to her new street clothes.

"That is one of the coolest things I think I've ever seen," Maizy admits. "How much is one of those gadgets?"

"I only have the style your sister has right now. I will order different ones if there is demand for them, but I only have two left, and I'm saving them for first timers," Darcy tells her.

"Then measure me up," Maizy grins.

"Hold it half pint. She's working on Jura's stuff right now, so wait your turn," Kaze tells her.

"Eep! I had almost forgotten her! I'll be right back!" Darcy says, before dashing off into the main part of her shop, and pulling this and that from the racks, before dashing back into the fitting room.

"The fact that she has the same Kaiju characteristics as Gina is going to make this faster than normal," Mandy says, causing Zoe to nod in agreement.

Moments later, Jura emerges from the fitting room, a pair of form hugging blue jeans, and a pale yellow blouse drawing the attention of everyone, while setting off her eye color to the point that they nearly seem to glow.

"How do I look" Jura squeaks out, not really happy being the center of so many peoples' attention.

"You'll be breaking hearts hours after classes start," Mandy tells her, a warm smile on her face. Turning to Darcy, she jerks her head toward the front of the store, getting a slight nod from the designer in return. Turning back to Jura, she says, "I'd like you to wait here with these three for a few minutes, while I talk to Darcy about where to deliver your new things."

"Alright," Jura agrees, not at all against spending more time near Kaze.

"While they take care of business, I'd like to introduce you to my sisters," Kaze tells her. "This is Zoe, and that is Maizy."

"Nice to meet you," Zoe tells her.

"Yo," Maizy says with a wave.

"Hello," Jura answers, ducking her head, and letting her hair fall forward to cover the left side of her face. She then turns to face Kaze, so that she is looking at her sisters through a veil of neon blue hair.

"No need to be so shy on our account," Maizy smiles.

"Don't pick on her," Kaze snaps.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make fun of your girlfriend," Maizy smirks. Three pairs of wide eyes lock on to her, so she rolls hers as she adds, "Gods, you are all so blind."

"Maizy, why don't we go see if Darcy is ready for you yet?" Zoe suggests, her tone a not so subtle hint that they should leave Kaze and Jura alone for a bit.

"Sure. I want one of those thingys like Kaze got," Maizy answers.

"Thank you," Jura quietly tells Kaze as her sisters move toward the front of the store.

"It's not a problem. The half pint was a bit out of line," Kaze returns. "But they are right about one thing. You really don't need to be so shy around us."

"It's just so…_hard_. I've spent most of my life alone, never having anyone to talk to, never having anyone say anything nice to me. I just don't know how to act. How a _normal _person acts. I just don't know!" Jura blurts out, finally breaking down into tears at the end.

"Easy does it," Kaze whispers, quickly moving to her and pulling her into a gentle hug. After letting Jura work some of it out of her system, Kaze informs her, "You know, in a lot of ways we are the same. You're a lot older than me, and have been through a hell of a lot from the sounds of it, but when it comes to dealing with the real world, we are basically in the same boat. My biggest advantage over you in this case is that I've got my sisters."

"She's right you know," Maizy says, having silently returned during Kaze's little speech. "As big and imposing as she is, she's little better than a newborn, when it comes to dealing with the real world. I didn't know about your past, so I apologize for making fun of you. But I do have to admit that I'm a sarcastic smartass, so I can't promise to not do it again."

"Boy, is that an understatement," Kaze mutters, causing Jura to giggle.

"And that, was a completely normal reaction to that kind of a comment," Maizy tells the saurian girl. "So while you may think you don't know how to act, I think you'll be surprised at just how normal you really are, now that you've got the chance to act that way."

"Then I'm not strange to you?" Jura asks in wonder, tear tracks streaking her face as she turns from Kaze to look at Maizy.

"What's strange? No, really, how do you define what is strange in a town where there is a school for people who have characteristics of giant monsters, robots with the power to level city blocks at the drop of a hat, and people who either pilot giant robots, or know one hundred and thirty seven different ways to kill a person with their bare hands?" Maizy returns, her smirk back in full effect. "Let's be honest here, you may not have enough confidence or experience to feel comfortable with your newfound freedom yet, but from my point of view, you are one of the most "normal" people I've met."

"So, I just need to adjust how I think? After a while I'll be more comfortable, and not feel so….uneasy…..all the time?" Jura asks, looking back and forth between the two.

"If you're willing to trust us, then yeah, I think so," Kaze agrees.

"Thank you. I don't know how to really thank you for all that, and just saying it doesn't seem like enough," Jura tells them, her head drooping as she shakes it.

"Hey, keep your head up. No point in hiding that pretty face of yours behind all that lovely hair," Kaze tells her, tipping her head back up with a finger under her chin.

"She's right on a couple of points there," Maizy adds. "You are quite attractive, your blue hair and your eye color are really set off to excellent effect by your skins coloring. And secondly, you should keep your chin up. You can't take in the world around you, if you're always staring at your feet."

"What's going on back there?" Mandy wonders, moving to go find out.

"Leave them alone for a little longer," Zoe tells her, grabbing her shoulder to stop her. "Maizy left a channel open, so I know what's going on. I think you'll be more than happy with the results of this little talk they are having back there."

"What are they doing?" Mandy demands.

"They've gotten Jura to open up some, and are helping her cope with what's been happening to her since she was found," Zoe tells her. "I just think it's kind of funny that the ones helping her through this are almost as new to the real world as she is," Zoe adds with a smirk.

"That is a big relief. I was afraid that she was going to need nearly constant counseling to deal with it. If your sisters can get her on the right track, then they can take all the time they need," Mandy answers with a sigh of relief.

"This is good. I knew there where skeletons in the dark ones closet, but she was so nice, and polite, I couldn't believe she was bad. It's always best to have good friends to help you work through these kinds of things," Darcy adds with a solemn nod.

"Agreed. And speaking of having friends to help you out, I think I'm going to ask some of the others if I can count on their help if things go to hell with that other matter you mentioned," Zoe says, directing the latter part of her comment to Mandy.

"Gina and the others?" Mandy asks.

"Partly, but with the exception of Rhoda, most of them aren't exactly capable of quick response over large distances. And she is less then dependable," Zoe returns. "I was thinking of the other mechs. Most of them can fly, as well as the Mothras."

"Just try to avoid starting a civil war at the school. Biologicals vs. the robotic would just lead to more paperwork than I really want to contemplate," Mandy returns, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

"Agreed," Zoe answers with a chuckle.

"I think we are ready to go," Kaze breaks in as the three return from the fitting rooms.

"Are we all set?" Zoe asks Darcy.

"I need Jura's address yet so I can send her other things over to her, but all the accounts are in order other than that," Darcy tells them.

"What is my address?" Jura asks Mandy.

"For now, you have a room in the dorms. We didn't know how you would be able to handle a roommate, so at the moment you have it all to yourself," Mandy answers her, and Darcy.

"Ah, that makes it easy then. The Dorm Monitor can make sure that she gets the delivery," Darcy smiles, adding the address to the customer file from memory.

"If it's not too much trouble, could I go with Kaze and her sisters?" Jura asks Mandy.

"I don't know," Mandy answers, before turning to Zoe. "You willing to take one more under your wing for the day?"

"Don't see why not. And I had already planned on a quick tour of the school for Kaze later on, so it won't even be out of our way to show her home," Zoe answers.

"Thank you!" Jura squeaks, giving Zoe a hug.

"Thanks sis," Kaze mouths at Zoe, and getting a nod in response.

"This should make for an interesting afternoon," Maizy grins, tapping her new choker and changing from her normal outfit and helmet to the outfit Darcy had created for her. "I _like_ this thing. A lot," Maizy grins as she looks down at her new clothes, the simple sundress setting off her silver skin and dark red hair.

"Always nice to have satisfied customers," Darcy grins.

"Then I think we've taken up enough of your time for one day," Zoe tells the seamstress.

"I look forward to your next visits!" Darcy calls after them as they head for the door.

"So do we," Kaze returns, with a nod of agreement from Jura.

"I had no idea that we would see so many things in such a short time," Jura says in wonder as they near the school.

"Have you even spent any time on campus yet?" Zoe asks her.

"Not really. I arrived with Miss Milenna, and she handed me off to Miss Mandy to go get fitted for clothes. Then I met you three," Jura answers.

"Then the only other K-girls you've seen are the teachers?" Zoe asks.

"How many others like me are there?" Jura asks.

"Let's just say that at _this_ school, you will fit right in," Zoe answers her.

"So why where you planning to show me the school?" Kaze asks.

"Because you'll be accompanying me, and going to your own classes here, starting tomorrow," Zoe informs her.

"Say wha!" Kaze returns, her jaw dropping in shock.

"Jura? Would you be kind enough to close her mouth for her before the fly's start to land?" Maizy asks with a grin.

Without a word, Jura reaches up and gently lifts Kaze's jaw back up until her mouth is closed.

"You need to learn how to deal with people in the real world, and that is one of the things that school is best at," Zoe tells her.

"When where you going to tell me?" Kaze demands.

"Pretty much when I just did," Zoe smiles.

"And don't worry, I'll have a new practice exercise ready for you for after school," Maizy informs her.

"Great," Kaze drawls. "Still in class even after I get out of school," she mutters, causing the others to laugh.

"The dorms are this way," Zoe says, pointing to one of the building on the outskirts of the school grounds.

It doesn't take long for Zoe to lead them to the proper building, and only a moment to find Jura's room from the woman who keeps track of matters in the dorm for the school.

"And here we have Jura's new home," Zoe smiles as she opens the door.

"This is all mine?" Jura asks in surprise, as she enters and finds a full size bed, a desk, with a generic computer, a closet, a mini kitchen, and a cheap entertainment center with a small television in it.

"Yup. The school takes pretty good care of the girls who live on campus," Zoe answers as the other three spread out to explore the place. "It's not as nice as having a house of your own, but I'm pretty sure it beats the hell out of what you've been used to."

"You have no idea," Jura says, in a state of shock as she wanders around her new home.

"Well, we need to get going, so I'm afraid that you're going to be on your own for the rest of the evening," Zoe tells her, as she moves to the desk and finds a small sticky note pad. After quickly scribbling down a number, and Kaze's name, she hands it to Jura, adding, "This is our phone number. If you need anything that the Dorm Mother can't help you with, give us a call, Okay?"

"Alright," Jura responds, a deep blush barely visible on her dark skin. "And thank you again for such a wonderful day."

"The pleasure was ours," Kaze says with a smile, accompanying nods from Zoe and Maizy confirming it. "And I'll make it a point to find you tomorrow, before classes start," she adds as the sisters move toward the door.

"Have fun getting settled in," Maizy says, before closing the door behind them.

"For the first time, I think I actually will," Jura says to the closed door, the shock finally wearing off, and leaving a warm glowy feeling in its wake.

"What's this?" Kaze asks as she finds a box next to the front door of the mansion.

"Well, whose name is on it?" Maizy asks her.

"Mine," she answers in confusion.

"Then maybe you should open it?" Zoe suggests with a smirk as she unlocks the door and leads the way in.

"Clothes! How did all these get here? And why the hell is there a sailor fuku in here?" Kaze blurts in surprise.

"_That_ would be your school uniform," Zoe tells her, barely able to keep from laughing.

"Please tell me you're joking….." Kaze pleads.

Zoe can't help but laugh at that. "Nope. Sorry kiddo, but you're as stuck wearing it as I am."

"_You_ actually wear one of those? How come I've never seen it?" Maizy demands, an evil gleam in her eyes.

"Because I normally change at School, since I can't stand the stupid looking thing," Zoe returns with a snort.

"Oh, I have_ got_ to get a picture of that," Maizy smirks.

"Try it, and I'll remove your legs for a month," Zoe tells her, her tone making it clear that it's not an idle threat. "And disable your flight pack."

"Your no fun," Maizy grumbles a she changes back to her Mazinger style suit.

"Where should I put this stuff?" Kaze asks.

"How about your room?" Zoe returns with an arched eyebrow.

"I don't have my own room yet," Kaze reminds her.

"Then don't you think it's time you picked one out?" Maizy asks dryly. "It's not like we don't have any open rooms, it _is_ a mansion after all. Most of the second floor is bedrooms. Aside from the ones Zoe and I have claimed, take your pick," she tells her.

"Awesome!" Kaze cheers as she sprints to the stairs, and takes them four at a time as she heads up.

"Was I that bad?" Maizy asks as she shakes her head.

"Only when I finally agreed to let you out of the house," Zoe tells her with a grin.

"C'mon, let's go see where she's planning to roost," Maizy says as she leads the way toward the stairs.

Chapter 6

"Uhg. How come _I_ have to get up this early, if only you two are the ones going to school," Maizy groans as she rubs her eyes and stumbles into the kitchen, like any other kid who has to get up early.

"Gee, "Mom" I thought you'd like to make sure Kaze got off alright to her first day," Zoe smirks.

"She's going with you. What could go wrong?" Maizy shoots back.

Zoe's only answer is an arched eyebrow.

"Right, it's DK high. Stupid question," she admits.

"Why don't you go make sure she's up," Zoe suggests, barely suppressing a grin.

"This is tyranny, you are aware of that right?" Maizy growls as she heads for the stairs.

After walking half the length of the house, Maizy finally gets to the room Kaze has chosen for herself. She is about to start hammering on the door when Kaze's voice comes through the door. Maizy is brought up short, both by the words, and because she had no idea that Kaze could sing. She settles in to listen, and hears :

I hear a voice in my mind  
I know her face by heart  
heaven and earth are moving in my soul  
I don't know where to start  
tell me, tell me, the words to define  
the way I feel about someone so fine  
how do you talk to an angel  
how do you hold her close to where you are  
how do you talk to an angel  
it's like trying to catch a falling star  
at night i dream that she is there  
and I can feel her in the air  
tell me, tell me, the words to define  
the way I feel about someone so fine  
how do you talk to an angel  
how do you hold her close to where you are  
how do you talk to an angel  
it's like trying to catch a falling star  
how do you talk to an angel  
how do you hold her close to where you are  
how do you talk to an angel  
it's like trying to catch a falling star  
how do you talk to an angel  
how do you hold her close to where you are  
how do you talk to an angel  
it's like trying to catch a falling star

Once she's sure that she has finished, Maizy gently knocks on the door.

"Hey, you ready yet?" she asks, easing the door open.

"Yeah, as ready as I'm ever going to be. How is it possible for a robot to be nervous? I feel like I've got a cloud of butterflies inside me," Kaze admits.

"Yeah, but is that because of going to school? Or because you're going to see Jura again?" Maizy asks, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

"Why do you ask that?" Kaze asks, a crimson glow spreading across her silver cheeks.

"Well, the fact that your face is a near match for your hair aside, I heard your song. It wasn't hard to do the math on that one," Maizy answers.

Knowing that she's been well and truly busted, Kaze hangs her head, hiding behind her hair like Jura. "I didn't sleep at all last night. Every time I tried all I could see was her. All I could feel was her against me while she cried. I…I think I'm falling for her," she finally admits.

"Falling? Sis, trust me on this. You're not falling. You hit the bottom of that cliff yesterday.

"So I'm in love with Jura? It can't work that fast! We just met her," Kaze returns, still confused.

Maizy just shrugs as she adds, "If not Love, then pretty serious Lust. Remember what we are built for after all. Sex, and protecting people. The Professor was a freak, but that's the way we are wired. Run with it. The worst that can happen, is that she won't feel the same way about you." Then she adds to herself, "_Although I sincerely doubt that will be the case."_

"Alright. Anything else you wanted this morning?" Kaze answers, still worried, but not looking quite so weirded out.

Maizy looks around, and asks, "Why did you pick this room? It's almost as big as the living room downstairs.

"Because it's one of the few rooms in the house where I don't feel crowded?" Kaze returns with a smirk. "That and it has another nice feature that I like."

"Such as?" Maizy responds, her curiosity taking over.

"The balcony," Kaze grins as she points at the outside wall, and the double doors that are open allowing a slight breeze in.

"And what made you want that? The hero? Or the romantic?" Maizy grins.

"I think I got hit with a double wammy on that one," Kaze answers. "Once I found this one, I knew that if I had a choice I'd want it for my own."

"Fair enough," Maizy tells her, still grinning. She turns to leave, when she suddenly stops short and asks, "Didn't you have plans to do something before classes start?"

"_SHIT!_ I'm supposed to find Jura before school starts!" Kaze says as she dashes toward the balcony. Without breaking stride, she dives over the side, igniting her flight pack as soon as she is far enough out to not scorch the house, then she angles toward the school, and kicks in the afterburner.

"It's going to be fun having her around," Maizy smiles, walking across the room and closing the doors. Then she heads back down to inform Zoe that she will be traveling alone this morning.

"What the hell's going on here?" Kaze wonders as she enters the dorm and sees a crowd gathered down one hall.

The hall leading to Jura's room.

"What's going on?" she asks, only to be ignored by the trio of insectoid girls at the rear of the crowd. Quickly getting disgusted, she adjusts her voice to bass growl and bellows, "Make a hole!"

The crowd clears out of her way with gratifying quickness.

"Now what the hell is going on?" she demands, her voice returned to normal.

"The new girl. She had some screaming fit last night, but won't unlock the door," the Dorm Mother growls. "I've been up most of the night thanks to her."

"So just open the door yourself. You should have a master key, right?" Kaze tells her.

"Tried that. Something's wrong with the lock. The key goes in, but it won't turn," she answers.

"Fine. Get out of the way, and I'll open it," Kaze tells her.

"No way. We are waiting for a locksmith," the DM tells her, refusing to move.

"Let me get this straight. You have a girl in this room, screaming her head off in the middle of the night, and rather than break in to find out what's wrong, you're dicking around out here waiting for a locksmith?" Kaze asks, having trouble believing how stupid the woman is. "Get out of my way, before I move you myself!" she warns, before she shoves the woman clear of the door.

"Hey! You can't just….." the woman sputters indignantly, before noticing that Kaze's eyes are getting brighter as she speaks. "If I keep talking, you're going to shoot me aren't you?" she whispers, a tremor in her voice.

"Good guess," Kaze tells her, before turning back to the door. "Jura? Are you alright? It's Kaze. Can you answer me?" Kaze starts, trying to get some kind of response from within the room. After a few moments of nothing, Kaze says, "Jura? I'm going to break in the door."

With a "crunch" of cheap wood paneling, Kaze sticks both of her hands into the door, then brings them together in a clapping motion, which turns most of the door into splinters.

"What the hell?" Kaze mutters as she gets a look at the barricade on the other side of the door, made from what furniture the room has. Bracing it as best she can, she starts pushing the tipped over desk that is the bottom of the pile, and carefully works it far enough into the room that she can slip around it. "Jura? Jura, it's Kaze. Where are you?" she asks, before activating her scanners.

It only takes a second to register a heat source and heart beat from within the closet.

"Jura? Are you alright?" Kaze asks as she gently eases the closet door open.

"Go away. You need to leave me alone, before they come back for me. If I'm around anyone then they are going to die," she sniffles, tear tracks marking her face, as she cowers in the back of the closet, wrapped in the blanket that she had stripped from the bed.

"Before who comes back for you?" Kaze asks.

"The people from the lab. They want to take me back and do more experiments on me," she explains with another sniff.

"Jura, the lab is gone. You told me yourself that it blew up," Kaze reminds her.

"Then why did I see them break in, shoot me full of their drugs, and show me a bunch of dead people as they drug me out last night?" she cries in frustration.

"Um, if they took you away, then why are you still here?" Kaze asks.

"I saw it while I was sleeping! That's never happened to me before! Sleep has always been peaceful, and now they are attacking me there!" Jura nearly yells, trying to make Kaze understand her fears for her and everyone else.

Understanding finally clicks into place for Kaze. Reaching down, she grabs Jura's hand, to make sure she has her attention.

"Easy girl. Just listen to me for a bit alright? You had a bad dream. A Nightmare. You finally have all the things you where so excited about yesterday, and that dream was your fears about it being taken away from you. It all happened in your head. No one you know was hurt the way you said," Kaze tries to explain.

"Then Jackie Chan isn't dead?" Jura asks hopefully.

"No, I think we all would have heard about him being killed by terrorists," Kaze replies with a small smile.

Jura wilts with relief, and starts to cry again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," She repeats over and over as she tugs on Kaze's hand. The taller girl is pulled off balance, and Jura locks her into a tight hug when she is within reach.

"Easy does it. We'll help you through this, I promise," Kaze whispers as she softly pets the other girls hair, in an attempt to calm her down.

It's about this time when Kaze realizes that the blanket was all that Jura was wearing.

"But first thing we need to do, is get you dressed," Kaze adds, her face changing from silver to red. With a gentle tug, she gets Jura to stand up, then leads her out of the closet. "You get yourself dressed. I'll be waiting for you right outside. You should have an outfit just like mine. That's the school uniform, and you should wear that for classes," she babbles as she maneuvers her way past the barricade and back into the hall.

It's only then that she notices that the crowd is still there.

"Vanish!" she growls, her eye's glowing brighter as she gathers power for a blast.

After her earlier displays, the crowd doesn't wait to be told twice. By the time Jura is done dressing and leaves her room, Kaze is leaning against the wall, with her arms crossed behind her head as a pillow.

"Now you're sure that it's alright for me to be around people? What I saw last night really won't happen?" Jura asks, not sure if going out is a good idea.

"Positive. Now let's go. We need to go find out where our classes are," Jura tells her as she puts an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, at least now I know what's been keeping the both of you. I was expecting to have met with you both roughly a half hour ago," Milenna says in an annoyed voice as she walks up to the girls. "Here are your Schedules, and Maps of the campus. You have ten minutes remaining until classes start, so I suggest you familiarize yourselves with these on your way to your first classes of the day. That is all."

After the teacher turns to walk away, she stops and throws back over her shoulder, "Oh, one last thing. If I ever get another report of you threatening the staff or bystanders with your powers again, I will make it my mission in life to make yours as difficult as possible. You're free to defend yourself and fight back if attacked, but your actions this morning will not be tolerated again. I happen to agree with you about the DM's incompetence, and will be bringing it up at the next staff meeting, but that doesn't excuse your behavior."

"Understood Ma'am," Kaze returns, straitening to stand at attention, even after the teacher has left. "Now I know how recruits at boot camp feel," Kaze mutters as she relaxes from her pose.

"What did you do?" Jura asks.

"Well, there was a bit of a crowd keeping me from getting to your room this morning. I kind of threatened to blast people if they didn't get out of my way," Kaze admits.

Jura is shocked at that. "You where willing to hurt people just so you could check on me?"

"Well, yeah. Especially after I found out that you where screaming in terror last night, and the Dorm Mother didn't bother to force the door when she couldn't get it unlocked or get you to answer her," Kaze tells her. "I was worried."

"Thank you for worrying about me," Jura tells her, pulling Kaze's head down and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. "But we need to find out where our classes are. Mine says I have English, of all things, first. How about you?" she asks as she studies her schedule.

Kaze spaces out for several seconds over the fact that Jura kissed her, before registering what she said. "Mine too. Let me see your schedule a sec," she asks. Jura hands hers over and Kaze compares them. Then she grins. "Oh, I'm loving this. We are in all the same classes!" she tells Jura. "Let's go! According to the map, our first class is in the main building, on the second floor, east wing."

"You have the best idea of where we need to go, so you lead," Jura tells her.

They end up being only a little late for class.

"So I can count on you, if I need some help?" Zoe asks Meo and Lara.

"Hey, if _you_ call for backup, then it's most likely something that's going to come for the rest of us sooner or later anyway," Lara tells her. "I'd rather take it out before it gets a chance to recover from dealing with you."

"We will be willing to assist you as well," Meo tells her. "Although you will have to ask the rest of my sisters if you wish their assistance as well."

"Then who was the "we"?" Gina asks.

"I believe she was referring to me" A tall draconic looking girl dressed as a skater punk adds as she joins the group. "Right babe?" she asks as she gives Meo a kiss.

"Yes, Des. Zoe was asking if those of us that can fly would be willing to back her up if one of her "extracurricular activities" comes back to cause her trouble again," Meo explains to her lover.

"Sounds like a fun way to spend a night. It's not every day a Ghidora gets to help out a hero. Sure, I'm in," Des agrees.

"Thanks. The Cyber Girls will all have the channel and an emergency beacon decryption program by the end of the week," Zoe says directing her comment to Lara. "The rest will have to make do with cell phones and text messages."

"Then I suggest that you contact Mina first, if she is willing to help," Meo tells her.

"Yeah, she treats that cell phone like it's her security blanket," Des grins.

"Well thanks, all of you. Now, I think I need to find _my_ sister, and find out how her day is going," Zoe tells them as she and Gina head toward the commons.

"I still can't believe you've managed to keep not one, but TWO sisters from everyone," Gina tells her.

"It wasn't easy, believe me," Zoe returns. "I'm just glad that their programming has worked out, so that I can trust them out of the house."

At that point, a dull "boom" is heard, and plaster dust shakes loose from the walls.

"And I suddenly have a bad feeling that somehow or other, my family is involved in this," Zoe mutters, breaking into a run, Gina hot on her heals.

Five minutes earlier:

"So what is our next class after lunch?" Jura asks, as she and Kaze eat while sitting under a tree in the commons.

"Looks like…" Kaze trails off as she calls up their schedule, "Gym. Maybe we will get lucky and they will be planning for us to do something outside. Maybe soccer, or track and field stuff."

"Soccer?" Jura asks, suddenly all happy. "I hope so! I like soccer. The only doctor at the lab who didn't treat me like test animal gave me a soccer ball when I was little," she explains, trailing off at the end.

"I understand," Kaze tells her, letting her know that she doesn't need to revisit the lab again. "With any luck, it _will_ be soccer that they have planned."

"Too bad your luck has already run out," an ominous Voice adds from behind them, as what little sun to reach under the tree is blocked by the newcomer.

"What do you mean?" Jura asks in surprise.

"I mean that this is my place, and if you're going to use it, then you owe me rent," the new girl tells them, taking a step toward them and out of the glare that is keeping her features in shadow. Purple and pink exoskeletal armor covers her form, with a pair of wings sticking up over her shoulders, while a mop of blond hair, split by a horn growing from the girls forehead completes the picture. "500 yen, or things get ugly," she growls.

"You know, up to just now, I always thought that "Dumb Blond" was just a stupid stereotype. Thank you so much for proving me wrong," Kaze smirks.

"What did you say?" the blond growls, clearly not dumb enough to have missed the insult.

"I insulted your intelligence. What, do I need to make you flash cards? Or do you have someone else who isn't here right now to keep you up to speed on what's going on around you?" Kaze continues as she gets to her feet.

"No one insults me!" The blond snarls, punching Kaze in the face, with enough force that she is blasted off her feet and back into the lunchrooms outer wall.

"Kaze!" Jura screams as she runs after the silver girl, staring in horror when she finds her imbedded in the wall.

"And that's what you get when you start shit with me, Bitch!" the blond calls as she slowly stalks across the commons toward Kaze, clearly intent on more mayhem.

"I'm alright Jura," Kaze quietly tells her as she shrugs herself free of the wall. "Now stay clear, because this could get…..messy," she adds as she stalks back toward the approaching blond.

"Back for more, little wind girl?" she asks, as she and Kaze start to circle each other while, at what they think is a safe distance, a crowd starts to gather.

"Cute. What's your name? I'd rather have a real name to call you, rather than keep calling you a dizzy bitch," Kaze shoots back.

"My name _is_ Dizzy, you stupid robot," she snarls, getting ready to attack again.

"Then Dizzy, even someone a stupid as you should know what happens to a tree that won't bend for the wind," Kaze says, mentally keying in the activation command for her Vortex Generator.

"I don't bend for anyone," Dizzy tells her, breaking into a bull rush at the taller girl.

"Then prepare to be broken!" Kaze yells, "Tornado Power Activated" flashing in the corner of her vision.

Dizzy runs head first into a blast of wind the equal of a force three hurricane. It fills her wings, and throws her across the commons, breaking off the tree that Kaze and Jura had been enjoying lunch under.

"_That's_ your sister?" Gina blurts out as they clear the lunch room doors in time to see Kaze free herself from the wall, and head back toward Dizzy.

"Yup. And I think this time, Dizzy may have bitten off a bit more than even her swarm can handle," Zoe answers as she quickly sizes up the coming fight.

"Zoe! You have to stop this before she gets hurt!" Jura cries, running up after catching sight of them.

"Easy Jura. I think you should watch this. Kaze has never been forced into a fight before, and I think it will do you some good to see just what she's capable of," Zoe tells her. "_And the rest of us as well,_" she adds to herself as she activates a link that Kaze doesn't know she has been programmed with. In seconds, Zoe has a small diagnostic display of Kaze's condition in the corner of her vision.

"Zoe, are you sure it's a good idea to let this go on?" Gina asks, right before they hear Kaze yell, and see Dizzy sent flying.

"Positive," Zoe smirks, heading toward where Giganna is taking bets on the outcome of the fight.

"200 yen says Dizzy rips the robo girls arm off and beats her with it!" Giganna calls out, accepting money.

"What are the odds on the new girl either running Dizzy off, or knocking her out?" Zoe calls out once she's close enough.

"At _least_ 300 to one," the bookie says, rolling her eyes at the notion that one of the schools powerhouses is going to get trounced by a newbie.

"One thousand yen on Kaze to win the fight," Zoe grins.

"I'll take your money, but you're nuts," Giganna tells her.

"I like to cheer for the underdog," Zoe says simply before turning away, a huge grin on her face as they hear Dizzy screech in anger. _"Show us what you can do sis,_" she adds to herself as she rejoins Gina and Jura.

"You're going to pay for that, you tin plated _BITCH!_" Dizzy screeches as she gets back on her feet, one wing hanging limply behind her.

"Awe, what's the matter? Can't take a little breeze?" Kaze taunts, a self satisfied smirk on her face.

"Obviously no one has informed you," Dizzy snarls, "that when you fight with me, you fight an _army!_"

With that declaration, the ground under Kaze's feet erupts, while at the same time, a wave of dark purple starts streaming from the surrounding buildings.

"Kaze! _BEHIND YOU!_" Jura screams, before the wave of mini-Dizzys slam into her, and she goes under.

"Jeez, she must of hurt her bad, if she called out the swarm this early in the fight," Gina mutters.

"Kaze!" Jura screams again, before sprinting into the field.

"Jura! NO!" Zoe calls, trying to stop her.

Jura makes it to the crater where the Swarm is keeping Kaze, and starts pulling mini-Dizzys from the pile and throwing them as she wades in, before a fresh wave from the center crashes down on her and sucks her under.

"Even for a new girl, that was stupid," Dizzy smirks as she crosses her arms and gloats over Kaze's apparent defeat.

The explosion of blue energy from the hole catches everyone by surprise as they suddenly have to start dodging flying members of the swarm as they are hurled in all directions.

"Leave her alone….." Jura says, trailing off as her eyes roll up into her head. Kaze regains her feet just in time to catch her as she faints.

"I'll be right back," Kaze growls, before she turns and carries Jura over to Zoe and Gina.

"Kaze, your uniform…" Zoe starts, before she gets a look at her sisters face.

"Take care of her," she orders, as she lays Jura in the grass at their feet. Then she turns and heads back toward Dizzy.

"Think she realizes that she's naked?" Gina asks.

"Right now, she's too mad to care," Zoe whispers.

"Ooo, going to keep fighting in nothing but that pretty little necklace and your shoes?" Dizzy taunts once Kaze is close enough.

"Nope," is Kaze's response as she reaches up and touches the heart on her choker.

Dizzy's jaw drops in surprise as she gets a look at Kaze's armor.

"Congratulations. You're the first person to ever succeed in pissing me off," Kaze tells her, the dull red marks on her face beginning to glow.

"Oh, so now you're a tough chick huh? Am I supposed to be impressed?" Dizzy snorts.

"Your call," Kaze answers her.

"Then I will. Call your bluff that is!" Dizzy snarls, as she rushes forward, her forehead horn glowing, and her Beam Katana manifesting as she abruptly ducks her head, the energy blade slashing at Kaze.

"Ouch." Kaze says as the smoke clears, and the sparking gash can be seen in the armor on her left forearm. "If you really want to pull out all the stops, then by all means, let's do this. Mazin-Go."

"Good lord," Zoe breathes in awe at what she is seeing on her displays.

"What? What's going on that we can't see?" Gina demands.

"Her energy output levels. They just jumped," Zoe answers.

"Isn't that normal? Like she activated a reserve or something?" Gina asks.

"Gina, she could shrug off anything I could throw at her, short of lightning, before. Her power levels just jumped by _five times that_. Dizzy is in for a world of hurt," Zoe explains, leaving Gina to look back at the commons in shock.

"Assault Mode Activated" flashes in Kaze's vision after saying those words. Suddenly a grilled guard slides from either side of her helmet, meeting in front of her face, and sliding back until it is covering everything but her eyes.

"Your fancy armor doesn't scare me, mech. I'll make spare parts out of you!" Dizzy taunts as the swarm comes back to life, gathering around her, then lifting her off the ground, until she is perched ten feet up, on nothing but the swarm.

"Allow me to take you down a notch," Kaze returns, as the crest on her chest plate begins to glow. "_Fire Blaster!"_ she calls, as the heat beam erupts, charring and melting the ground under half of Dizzy's impromptu throne. Self preservation causes the mini-Dizzys at ground zero to scatter, upsetting the pile, and toppling Dizzy from her perch.

"You are beginning to piss me off robot," Dizzy growls as she picks herself back up off the ground, absorbing a few of her swarm back into her body, their energy allowing her to heal her wing.

"Now ask me if I give a shit," Kaze growls in return.

"Die!" Dizzy yells, before unleashing a blast of micro oxygen at Kaze.

"_Photon Beam!_" Kaze yells, her eyebeams meeting the blast from Dizzy and causing a minor explosion as they interact.

Kaze doesn't wait for Dizzy to recover from the blast, her flight pack flaring to life as her wings spread, and she jets through the explosion at Dizzy.

Dizzy looks up just in time to see the matte black fist come in and knock her spinning to the ground as Kaze lands next to her.

"That all you got?" she slurs, getting to her hands and knees as blood dribbles down her chin from a split lip.

Kaze doesn't answer until after the next punch delivers Dizzy to dream land.

"No, it's not. It's just all you can take," she says, before turning her back and leaving Dizzy where she lays.

Kaze only makes it a half dozen steps away, before she stops.

"Ah, Damnit," she mutters before turning back and slinging Dizzy over her shoulder and carrying her back toward the lunch room.

"Holy shit….." Giganna says in shock as Kaze approaches, Dizzy slung over her shoulder like a sack of laundry.

"Zoe played you," Gabrielle hisses in her ear.

The Gigan girl glares at her through the red shades she wears, and hisses back, "No shit. But I took the bet and I lost. If I don't pay up, then my rep turns to shit, and that will be the end of any more making money off of these fights."

"It's not right. It's the same as fixing a fight," the red head continues to grumble.

"Oh, please. Like anyone could fix a fight involving Dizzy. If anything, she'd be the one to fix a fight, since she uses an army," the bookie shoots back. "We lost this round. Deal with it. You can always mug some of the others to rebuild our pool after school."

"Alright," the redhead finally gives in, still pissed off about having to pay Zoe so much money.

"Someone might want to get her to the nurses office, I might have broken her jaw with that last punch," Kaze admits, laying Dizzy on the ground at some distance away from Jura.

"I'll take care of her," another blond with red armor and lobster like antenna says as she steps out of the crowd. She gently lifts Dizzy in her arms, and stands up, adding, "And thank you for not hurting her more than you had needed to in order to stop the fight."

Kaze merely nods, while Gina adds, "Better get her to the nurse, before she wakes up and wants to start round three, Ebi."

Ebi smiles and says, "Your right," before turning and taking her burden to the nurse.

"How is Jura?" Kaze asks, as she kneels next to the sleeping girl.

"Looks like she just used too much energy all at once," Gina tells her, Jura's head resting in her lap. "I've never seen anyone just blow the swarm away like she did."

"Yeah, she saved my butt," Kaze agrees.

"Dizzy had you? I thought you were just playing possum," Zoe breaks in.

"She was keeping me tumbling with all those little monsters. I didn't dare try any weapons, since I couldn't tell what might be hit by a missed shot," Kaze admits.

"So you admit that you couldn't have won without help from your little friend?" Gabrielle snorts as she and Giganna walk up.

"I told you to drop it!" Giganna snarls at her, before handing Zoe a large wad of cash. "You won, but I don't think I'll be taking any more bets from you on fighters I don't know anything about," Giganna tells her.

"Fair enough. Sorry about your loss here, but with the odds you gave me I would have been a fool to pass it up," Zoe answers her, accepting her winnings.

"Ung, my head hurts," Jura mutters as she starts to come around.

"Easy, little hero," Kaze smiles at her, gently brushing some hair back from her eyes.

"Awe, so you have a little pet?" Gabrielle smirks.

"Do you really want some of what I gave Dizzy?" Kaze growls.

"You won't do that, because I'm not offering to fight you," the smaller redhead sneers. "And you won't attack someone for saying something you don't like, Hero."

Kaze just growls in frustration because she knows that Gabrielle is right.

"Anyway, if you're going to bring your pet to school, you should think about the leash laws," she continues, spite fueling her comments. "And she would look so cute in nothing but a collar and leash."

"NO!" Jura screams, launching herself at the redhead, her eyes blazing as she delivers blow after blow to the stunned girl.

"Kaze! Stop her!" Zoe yells.

"I Can't!" Kaze answers, trying to pull Jura off of Gabrielle. "Help me!"

"_SHE_ can't stop her?" Gina and Giganna share a look of shock, before they rush to help Zoe and Kaze.

"Stop it Jura!" Zoe yells, as she and Gina help Kaze pull her back, while Giganna pulls her flunky clear, and takes off with her.

Jura roars in frustration at being pulled back, her eyes having shifted to a dark brown with flames dancing in them.

"Kaze! We need to snap her out of this!" Zoe cries as they finally manage to pin Jura to the ground.

"Jura! _JURA!"_ Kaze yells into her face, trying to get her attention.

"Make it fast!" Gina grits as she puts all the force she can into holding Jura down, and finds herself being forced back by her.

Grasping at straws, Kaze lets go of Jura's shoulders, enabling her to throw both Zoe and Gina off. Using her distraction, she grabs Jura's face, and brings her own down to give her a deep kiss.

Jura abruptly quits trying to escape Kaze, and instead wraps her arms and legs around her. They remain like that for several moments, until Jura breaks their clinch, asking, "What happened?"

"She nearly beats someone to a pulp, and doesn't remember it?" Gina asks, shaking her head in amazement.

"She's had a rough history," Zoe says, shaking her own head.

"What the bloody hell has been going on out here!" Mandy yells, as she finally emerges from the school.

"Um, would you believe that…." Kaze starts, only to trail off as Mandy turns a crimson gaze on her. "Guess not," she whispers.

"You two have put two other students in the infirmary, in the space of a few minutes, and on your _FIRST BLOODY DAY!_" Mandy snarls at them.

"Um, They started it?" Kaze tries again.

Mandy has to take several moments to visibly control herself, before continuing.

"You and you," she says to Zoe and Gina. "I want to know exactly what the hell happened out here." Then she turns to Kaze and Jura. "_You_ two. Get out of here. You're excused from the rest of your classes for today. I'll deal with you after I get the whole story."

"Then don't you need to hear our side?" Kaze asks.

Mandy's tail lashes out like a whip, smashing a nearby table into splinters. "Do I need to repeat myself?" she asks with a cold voice.

"We'll be leaving now," Kaze says as she scoops up Jura, and takes to the skies.

Turning her attention back to Zoe and Gina, she says, "My office. Now."

"So where are we going?" Jura yells over the roar of the wind as Kaze flies them away from the School.

"My house," Kaze answers her. "I need to get some more clothes, since Dizzy's swarm ate my uniform."

"They _ate_ it? Right off of you?" Jura gasps in shock.

"Yeah, twisted little monsters. Just like their mistress," Kaze returns. "Hold on, we're heading down now."

"Okaaaay!" Jura squeals as Kaze abruptly cuts her thrust, dropping their altitude far quicker than would be considered safe.

"And here we are," Kaze announces after firing a long blast from her afterburner to slow their fall. With a gentle thump, they drop the last few centimeters to the balcony.

"You did that on purpose!" Jura accuses as Kaze sets her back on her feet.

"Of course I did," Kaze admits with a grin. "How else could I guarantee that you would hold on to me like that?"

"You!" Jura fumes.

"C'mon, inside," Kaze tells her as she opens the doors.

"Why should I? You probably just want to play another trick on me," Jura sulks.

"Think so?" Kaze asks, taping the heart and switching back to the remains of her school uniform.

"Um…." Jura murmurs as she follows Kaze inside.

"This room is huge," Jura mutters once she manages to tear her eyes away from Kaze's ass. "It makes my dorm room feel like my closet."

"Yeah, it's one of the few rooms in the house where I don't feel crowded," Kaze agrees as she heads for her dresser to get some fresh clothes.

"Boy, did you shit heads break into the wrong house!" Maizy snarls as she kicks the door open.

"Hi sis," Kaze says without bothering to turn and look. "But you really should knock before you come into someone else's room."

"Do I even want to ask why you two are here, since I know that your classes are not over yet? And what happened to your clothes?" Maizy asks, relaxing from her combat readiness.

"We had some…..problems at lunch time," Jura admits, finally able to recall what she had done to Gabrielle.

"Who did you beat the hell out of?" Maizy smirks.

"Dizzy," Kaze answers.

"A redhead with light blue skin and a horn on her forehead," Jura says with a blush of embarrassment.

"You beat up Dizzy and Gabrielle?" two other small K-girls add as they appear in the doorway behind Maizy.

"I told you two to wait for me downstairs," Maizy tells them over her shoulder.

"Yeah, like we are going to let you take on the world by yourself?" the bipedal insectoid girl shoots back, crossing her arms.

"We thought we might need to stop you from blowing up the house, while you beat on whoever was up here," the other one adds, moving forward a bit on her tiny caterpillar legs.

"No chance of that with these two," Maizy informs them. "Immomu, Nuri, I'd like to introduce you to my sister Kaze, and her girlfriend, Jura."

"Isn't it normal for _both_ of them to be naked if they were up here having sex?" Nuri asks.

"But, we weren't," Jura sputters, blushing so hard that it shows even against her dark hide.

"We got the afternoon off, while they sorted out the mess we made," Kaze tells them pulling out the clothes she wants, and sitting down to remove her shoes.

"You still haven't answered Maizy about what happened to your clothes," Immomu points out.

"The Dizzy swarm ate her uniform," Jura tells them.

"They….." Immomu starts.

"_ATE_," Nuri continues.

"Your uniform," Maizy finishes.

"Yeah. I never claimed to be able to beat down her personal army," Kaze mutters in her defense.

"Then I take it they ate your underwear as well?" Nuri asks with a smirk.

"Yes," Kaze mutters, her entire body taking on a pink hue.

"I think that is the first time I've ever heard of a full body blush," Immomu adds, blushing a bit herself.

"Out," Kaze orders the trio.

"You heard her girls. Although I'm going to want the whole story about today later on," Maizy tells her, herding her friends back out.

"That was different," Jura says after they leave.

"Apparently K-girls mature a bit faster than normal kids," Kaze agrees. But speaking of different, what was the deal with you and Gabrielle? It's like you where a different person or something. What triggered that?"

"…well, I was just waking back up after saving you from the swarm," Jura says slowly, rebuilding things for herself, step by step. "Then I heard her say something about putting a collar on me, and something in the back of my head just…..took over. Most of what I did is a blur, with just a couple of clear pictures. Then the next clear memory I have is you. And being wrapped around you," she finishes, her blush burning hotter than ever.

"She wasn't talking about the kind of collars that your lab people used on you," Kaze tells her, pulling on a pair of panties, and tossing the rest of her clothes on the bed. Climbing on the bed and sitting close to Jura she continues, "She was talking about the ones some people wear when they dress up in costumes and things for sex.

"You mean she wanted to have sex with me?" Jura asks getting more confused.

"No, I mean…." Kaze trails off, trying in vain to think of a way to explain this that Jura will actually understand. Grabbing her shirt, she pulls it on, then slips into her pants. Standing up, she holds a hand out to Jura. "C'mon, Lets go find a computer, so I can show you what I'm trying to explain."

"Where is your computer?" Jura asks, taking her hand and allowing herself to be led deeper into the house.

"Well, I'm sure that Zoe and Maizy have their own, but the only one that I know of is the mainframe in the basement," Kaze answers.

"You have a mainframe computer? Aren't those really big? The lab had one, and they said things like it needed a lot of power, and that their experiments wouldn't be possible without one," Jura says as she is led through the house, and down to the basement.

"We also have a micro reactor buried under the house, to supply us with all the power we could ever need," Kaze adds, as she moves over toward one of the consoles and starts it up.

"Is that safe?" Jura asks.

"No idea. You'd have to ask Zoe or Maizy about that," Kaze returns as she starts an image search. In moments, she has several pages of pictures, all the women in them wearing all kinds of sexy outfits, with the only thing in common being that each of them has a collar on as well.

"And they're not prisoners?" Jura asks, having a hard time wrapping her mind around the images.

"Not unless they want to be treated that way," Kaze tells her. "Some people get excited being treated like that. Personally, I think it's kind of weird, but if it gets them off, who am I to judge."

"I still can't understand why someone would _want_ to give up their freedom. It's too weird," Jura returns after a moment.

Getting an idea, Kaze tells her, "Go ahead and keep looking around. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Jura asks.

"I just need to go ask Maizy something real quick. I'll be back in a few minutes, tops," Kaze answers.

"Alright. But hurry. It's a little too much like my old home for me to want to be in here alone for very long," Jura tells her, already looking uneasy about being alone down there.

"Just for a few minutes, I promise," Kaze assures her as she runs up the stairs.

"Maizy? Can I talk to you alone for a sec?" Kaze asks, sticking her head into the living room where the terrible trio is watching T.V. and giving the shows the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment.

"You could have just called me on a com channel you know," Maizy tells her as they step into the next room.

"I know, but I wanted to do this in person. I know what we were built for, during down time, so I was wondering if there was any stuff laying around the house?" Kaze asks.

"Want to show off for Jura?" Maizy smirks, as she thinks back over some of the stuff she's found, and trying to figure if any of it would fit her sisters much larger frame.

"No. Well, at least not right now. I'm trying to help her work past what got Gabrielle sent to the infirmary today," Kaze explains. Do we have any collars floating around here?"

"I think I found a couple in the other wing of the house…" Maizy trails off, thinking back. "Yeah, I'm sure of it. _Dad_ had one of the bedrooms in that wing converted into a S&M playroom. The twisted bastard," she finishes, resentment over what the professor had done to her clearly still lingering.

"Could you run and find me one? It will be faster than if I try to find the right room, and I told Jura I would hurry. She says the basement reminds her of her old home," Kaze tells her.

"No surprise there. It _is_ a robotics lab after all, so there is bound to be a few similarities. Yeah, I'll go find you one, just let me tell them I'll be gone for a couple of minutes," Maizy answers, moving to inform her friends that she will be missing a bit longer.

"Now I remember why I locked that room after I found it," Maizy mutters as she returns. She gives herself a shake, trying to remove the memories of the room, before she tosses Kaze her prize. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to hanging out with my friends."

"Thanks sis," Kaze tells her, dropping to her knees to give her smaller sister a hug.

"Hey! Knock that off," Maizy tells her, struggling to get free, before Kaze lets her go and heads back down to Jura. "Crazy. She is absolutely nuts," she adds, shaking her head, as she returns to Nuri and Immomu. Maizy only gets a few steps before the doorbell rings. Growling under her breath, she stalks to the front door. "I don't care what you're sellin' we ain't buyin', she snarls, as she throws the door open.

"Maizy! Gimme hugz!" a green blur squeals as she bowls Maizy over.

"Gak! Zuki! Ease up before you crush me!" Maizy gasps, displays popping up in her vision, warning of critical damage being imminent, unless the pressure is reduced.

"Sorry," the green bundle of energy returns, helping Maizy back to her feet.

"If I was organic, I'd need a chiropractor after that, at least," Maizy grumbles, stretching, faint pops being felt and heard as her back realigns itself.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Zuki tells her, looking like she just saw her puppy get hit by a car.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," Maizy tells her with a smile. "_This time at least,_" she adds to herself. "C'mon, the others are in the living room. Let's see what you think about some of the stuff they have on T.V."

"Cool!" Zuki answers, floating above Maizy's head as they head for the living room.

Kaze descends the stairs like her name, enjoying the image of Jura learning how to use a computer as she slowly moves the mouse around the screen. Taking notice of the images that Jura is blowing up for a better look, Kaze is rather surprised.

"_That is kind of Heavy Bondage, given her background,_" she thinks, at the image of a woman with her arms behind her back, and stuck in a leather sleeve, her hands up between her shoulder blades, while her legs are locked to a spreader bar.

"People actually enjoy being put into positions like this?" Jura mutters, the disbelief in her voice thick enough to walk on.

"Well, if they didn't, the only time you would get anything remotely like that would be pictures that came out of a prison for the real sicko's," Kaze answers, causing Jura to nearly jump out of the chair in surprise.

"Don't do that!" Jura gasps. "How can someone as big as you move that silently?" she finally asks, once her pulse starts to return to normal.

"Natural talent?" Kaze returns with a negligent shrug. "Ether that, or it's a side effect of some of my combat programming."

"Did you find out what you wanted to know?" Jura asks, shaking her head at Kaze's answers.

"Yeah I did. But before I get to that, I want to ask you some questions," Kaze tells her.

"Alright," Jura responds, motioning for her to continue.

"Bring the chair over here," Kaze says as she hops up on the examination table. Once Jura rejoins her, she continues. "Have a seat. Now I'd like you to tell me why the thought of a collar freaks you out so much."

"For most of my life, I was nothing more than a tagged animal. The collar I wore let them monitor me, and control me with electric shocks. The only reason that I even know how to read is that they forced that kind of stuff down my throat," Jura answers, shuddering violently at the memories.

"I understand all that, but you said it yourself, the lab is gone. Whatever they did, screwed up, whatever, the lab has been blown to shit. You never need to worry about them trying to do that kind of thing to you again," Kaze tells her. "Now try again. Why does the _thought_ of wearing a collar, even a decorative one, get under your skin so bad?"

"Because…..Because of the memories. I just can't keep from thinking of what they did, every time I even hear the word," she finally answers.

"Alright, I can work with that kind of an answer," Kaze tells her, looking satisfied.

"What do you mean?" Jura asks.

"Do you trust me?" Kaze returns, all signs of playfulness gone.

"You've never given me a reason not to," Jura answers in a small voice. "Why do you need to ask that?"

"Because I want you to trust me, and do as I say for a little bit. Okay?" Kaze answers.

"What do you want me to do?" Jura wonders.

"Nothing much. Just tip your head back a little, and close your eyes," Kaze answers her.

"Alright," Jura tells her, doing as requested.

Kaze doesn't waste a moment, silently moving to Jura, and loosely buckling the collar around her neck. Then she steals a kiss just for the hell of it.

"You can open your eyes now," Kaze smirks at the goofy grin on Jura's face.

"Now what was that all about….." Jura asks as she brings her face back down to level to look at Kaze, and brushing the collar with her chin. "Get this thing off of me now," she orders.

"No," Kaze answers, crossing her arms.

"I'm not joking Kaze. Get this thing off of me this instant!" she continues, her voice rising.

"And what will you do if I continue to refuse?" Kaze asks her.

"You mean besides never speaking to you again?" Jura snarls, quickly becoming pissed.

"Yeah, besides that," Kaze returns, carefully keeping hidden just how much that idea upsets her.

"I'll…I'll…..," Jura says, trying to think of something that she IS willing to do to Kaze.

"Well, while you're thinking about what you'll do to me, think about this: The collar isn't hurting you. It isn't allowing anyone else to hurt you, or do anything to you for that matter. You can remove it yourself at any time, if you where to actually think about it. And finally, this is the kind of collar Gabrielle was referring too, before you came off the ground, and proceeded to beat the hell out of her," Kaze tells her, ticking off points on her fingers.

"I….I can just take it off?" Jura stutters in shock, before reaching up and fumbling at the buckle. Staring at it in her hand, she whispers," I can just take it off? No locks? No remote controls? It's just that simple?"

"Yep," Kaze tells her with a nod. "And while you may not realize it, even if that thing was metal, and locked on with a fancy electronic lock, you could _still_ just reach up and take it off. You are _strong_ girl. When you flipped out this afternoon, I couldn't stop you. I was at the height of my powers, and I couldn't pull you off of that girl. I needed Zoe, and her friends help, and even then it was a struggle," Kaze tells her, getting wide eyes in return. "I think the main reason they went out of their way to keep you drugged up, and in constant fear of them is the fact that they _knew it._ I'm pretty sure that they knew full well that if you ever gained enough confidence in yourself to resist them, that you would have ripped that damn gizmo of theirs in half, and shoved it up their asses, then pressed the shock button _for _them. They were terrified of what you were born with, and tried to make sure that they could control you, while at the same time, doing everything they could to learn about the how's and why's of what you are."

"How can you know all that?" Jura asks, her voice barely a whisper as she thinks over what Kaze has just told her.

"I don't. Not for sure I mean. But if those are _not_ the reasons behind most of what they did to you, then _I'm_ the one who's going to be surprised," she answers.

"I…I need to tell her just how sorry I am. I had no idea…..never even _suspected_. My god, I was trying to kill her! Over something so stupid!" Jura sputters. "What kind of monster am I?"

Reaching out, Kaze catches Jura's face in both hands, and forcibly looks her in the eyes. "Now hear this. _YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER!_ Those bastards that treated you like that for all those years, making sure that you never knew the slightest kindness, or hint of warmth or caring, _THEY_ where the monsters. Not you. You where their victim," Kaze tells her, her grip ensuring that Jura can't look away.

"But what I did!" Jura counters.

"Was an overreaction of someone who didn't have all the facts, and while regrettable, was non-fatal to all parties involved," Kaze finishes for her.

"But….But…." Jura struggles to find ground to argue from.

"Yeah, and it's a real cute one too," Kaze smirks. "And since you can't seem to find an argument to use on me, you'll just have to take my word for this, and try to do better in the future."

"Do you have to be so smug?" Jura finally blurts out in frustration.

"I blame Maizy. She's a bad influence on me," Kaze deadpans.

Jura just looks at her in shock for several seconds, before starting to giggle. Kaze joins her after a moment, and soon both are in tears, thanks to how hard they are laughing.

"So do you feel a little better now?" Kaze asks, once they have recovered enough to talk normally.

"Yes. It's like a weight is gone. I feel lighter, but can't really explain why," Jura answers.

"Good. You're a lot cuter when you smile," Kaze tells her with an impish grin.

"You just like to make me blush all the time," Jura shoots back, before sticking her tongue out.

"True. And it's fun to do too!" Kaze grins.

"Alright. Just for that, _you_ get to wear this for a while," Jura tells her, reaching up to put the collar around her neck.

"If it will make you feel better," Kaze smirks, leaning down a little to make it easier for her.

No sooner does Jura pull her hands back, when Kaze's eyes go wide in surprise, before her entire face takes on a vacant stare. She then sinks to the floor, her knees spread wide, and her wrists touching as she rests most of her weight on her rigid arms.

"That's not funny," Jura tells her with a frown. When Kaze doesn't so much as twitch, Jura starts getting worried. "Kaze, stop playing around, your scaring me."

Starting to get desperate, Jura reaches down and tugs on her arm, only to feel like she is pulling on a statue. "Kaze!" she screams. "Kaze, talk to me! What happened to you?"

"Can't move. Body's locked up," Kaze answers, her voice barely audible.

"What can I do?" Jura demands, relieved that Kaze is still in there, and terrified at what's happened to her.

"Get Maizy," is Kaze's only response before she falls silent again.

"Okay, now that is just messed up. The guy with the sonic cannon in his arm can't even put a dent in the guy, but the only one on the team who is completely human, with no powers of his own, can kick the guys ass with a _stick_?" Maizy complains.

"I like the little green guy. He's funny," Zuki giggles.

"I like the one with the cape. Her magic is kinda cool," Nuri adds.

"I think it's funny how the red head is so confused all the time. And that she can fly and is the strongest one of the bunch," Immomu tosses in.

"Maizy!" Jura screeches as she reaches the top of the stairs.

"Huston, we have a problem," Nuri sighs, as Maizy rushes from the room, the rest hot on her heels.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time?" Maizy mutters as she stands over her larger sister's immobile form.

"Super Maizy is stuck like that?" Zuki asks.

"Her name is Kaze," Immomu corrects her.

"And it looks that way," Nuri adds.

"She said that her body had locked up, and that I should get you. That was the last I was able to get out of her," Jura tells Maizy in a rush, just short of freaking out over this.

"Well, at least she managed to get that much out," Maizy says to no one in particular. "Alright, if her body is refusing to respond to her, then we need to go to the source."

"Where is that?" Immomu asks.

"Where she was built," Maizy answers, transmitting Zoe's new password to the hidden lab.

The others just stare in shock as a section of the wall sinks into the floor, revealing the stairs down to the hidden lab.

"To the Batcave!" Zuki cheers as she flies down the tunnel.

"Wait! Don't touch anything!" Maizy yells, igniting her flight pack and taking off after the flying lizard girl.

"Let's go," Nuri tells Immomu as she runs after them.

"Wait for Immomu-mu!" the caterpillar girl cries as she follows after the others.

After the smaller girls troop down to the lab, Jura finally breaks into tears as she kneels next to Kaze. After several minutes of useless weeping, she finally starts getting herself back under control. After wiping her eyes, she climbs back to her feet, and starts to pace. After three laps around the room, she finally stops near Kaze, and uses the strongest cuss phrase she knows.

"_Fuck me!_" she snarls in frustration. "If not for all my problems, this never would have happened!" she says as she turns to follow Maizy and the others.

Only to be brought up short by a grip on her wrist.

"Wha? Kaze! You can move!" she gasps, before Kaze yanks her arm and spins her into a hold that she can't easily escape from. "Kaze! What are you doing?"

"Obeying your command, Mistress," Kaze answers, one hand going down under Jura's waist band, the other going up under her top.

"Kaze, MMpph!" Jura starts, only to be cut off as Kaze locks her lips with hers.

"So where do we start?" Nuri asks, after getting over her initial shock at seeing the lab for the first time.

"Here. I'm hoping that the bastard left behind some notes or something that can help us," Maizy answers, hoping up in to a chair in front of one of the terminals.

"Who?" Immomu asks.

"Our "father", the professor," Maizy explains, as she starts searching through the system as only a robot that is totally compatible with it can.

"What is this place?" Zuki asks, wandering around with her hands behind her back, so she won't touch anything.

"This is where I finished building Kaze's body, and where Zoe jumpstarted her mind, like she did mine," Maizy answers absently.

"If you built her, then why is this the first we've heard of her? Everyone knows Zoe, but Kaze just appeared recently. If you've been online as long as you say, then why is it that she's just now appeared?" Immomu asks.

"I…..screwed up when I built her. Nothing that is causing her current problem, it was with Zoe," Maizy finally comes clean. "I kept the entire thing from her, and planned to dump my mind into Kaze's body. I still don't know how, but Zoe found out, and stopped me, by locking the lab. It wasn't until that big mess with Kiga's last break out that she even brought the subject up again. Turns out that before she locked it all up, she started a program that brought Kaze to life, like she did with me. But Kaze was left sleeping for the whole time, and we only came down to wake her up recently. That's why no one has ever seen her before now."

"Well, if you built her, then shouldn't you know what's wrong with her?" Nuri asks.

"If I had started her from scratch, I'd agree with you, but she was already better than half built when I found her," Maizy agrees. "All I did was finish what the professor started. And like a fool, I didn't think to look into what he had done before hand. Aside from the standard programming that he gave all of us, I have no idea what other things he may have installed in her."

"You don't like your father very much, do you?" Zuki asks her, her voice full of compassion.

"He built me as a sex doll, with the body of a little girl. That in itself is more than a bit on the sick side, and then with some of the things he made me _like_, by programming me to, so that I don't have a choice in the matter…Yeah, I have some _issues _with him," Maizy answers.

"Hey, where is Jura?" Immomu asks, having just noticed the older girls absence.

"Nuri? That terminal over there is hooked into the security cams, see if you can locate her. Cause I just found the perverts journal!" Maizy grins, only to have it turn into a snarl of frustration when she sees the encryption protecting it.

"Maizy? You need to come get a look at this," Nuri says from the other terminal.

"I didn't think it was possible to bend like that," Immomu adds, her face glowing crimson.

"Wow," Zuki puts in.

"Difficulty rating?" Nuri asks, when they move to a new position.

"At least seven," Maizy answers, before they get to what they were after. "Scratch that, that is defiantly a nine."

While the others continue to stare at the monitor, Zuki wanders over to the terminal that Maizy was using, and begins to punch keys, slowly at first, but her fingers as soon a blur.

"Looks like just got a pair of new stars," Nuri smirks.

"You wouldn't!" Immomu says in shock.

"Why not?" Maizy asks. "After I fuzz out their faces, no one will be the wiser about who they are."

"Um, Maizy? Will this help Super Maizy?" Zuki asks as she points at the monitor, where a tall man with a bald scalp and a large tuft of wild white hair over each ear stares back.

"How the hell!" Maizy yells as she rushes back. "How did you crack that code? I used every perverted reference, sexual position, and dirty comment I could come up with!"

"What's bukkake?" Zuki asks, the most innocent smile imaginable on her face.

Maizy looks back and forth between the screen and Zuki with wide eyes.

"I'm going to kill him," she mutters, before pulling her chair back in front of the monitor and starting to work through the files.

"Don't hold back on our account," Nuri smirks.

"Yeah, tell us how you really feel," Immomu adds with a grin, since she rarely gets a chance to pick on Maizy.

"I'm going to shove this arm up his ass," Maizy begins without turning around as she holds up her right arm for them to see. "Then do this," she continues, as the twin blades pop out. "And then I'm going to fire it, and rip his heart out," she finishes, not bothering to turn and see that the others are as green as Zuki.

"Um… Maizy?" Zuki says. When Maizy turns to look, she points at the others.

"What? You guys asked. Sheesh!" she adds, turning back to the files. "I don't believe it. The son of a bitch left it all in video."

"The Mazinger cyber doll series is arguably my most impressive achievement," the Professor says from the screen. "But the Prototype, Ryoko, is little more than a proof of concept work. Taking what at the time was my most advanced design, and retrofitting the weapons into it proved far more successful than I could have hoped. Although the design lacked a true A.I., it was more than capable of supporting one. But the Military was so impressed, they furnished all the funds and materials I could ask for to assist in the development of the second generation cyber doll. Mazinger Zoe, was brought online in a military instillation, and over the course of a year, her newborn mind, for I had by this time perfected my A.I. program, was taught how to be a hero. A team of similar constructions where created, and Zoe was the one chosen to lead them. "The Shogun Maidens" proved their worth many times over, and at the time I record this, are deep in a conflict with an Alien race, who's entire goal is to wipe out the human race, and colonize the planet as their own.

"But, moving on, I have continued my works, and have begun construction of a new cyber doll. I have far reaching plans for this model. In addition to her military applications, I plan to market a "powered down" version to the rich and powerful. Programmed to serve as both a bodyguard, and sexual partner, I figure I can keep myself living comfortably with this. I'm still working out the programming on this model, including the parameters that I plan to include in the other versions. Since we all know just how varied what people like in a sexual partner is, there will be several "modes" that she will be programmed for. Some of them may seem a bit silly, given the scale of the frame for the prototype, but there will be a "Defender mode", in which she will serve her bodyguard duties, a "Normal mode", in which her A.I. will enable her to act like any other human, even going so far as to joke and backtalk. For those who prefer a bit more obedience in their partners, there will be a "Slave mode", in which she will follow any commands her owner gives her. I plan to have two separate triggers for this mode, one being a pre programmed command, that the new owner will designate, and the other will be as simple as slapping a collar around her neck. At that point she will only be able to see and hear her owner, and will obey any command that she is given by them. Additionally, The military models, and the prototype, will also have an "Assault mode", in which the armored helmet will add a guard across the dolls face, ensuring that her facial appearance is undamaged, regardless of what kinds of Combat she finds herself in. In addition to that, her power core will have a "Booster" that will be enabled when Assault mode is activated, greatly increasing her power.

"Given that not everyone has a liking for silver flesh, no matter how soft and cuddly it may be, I have also created a system that will enable her to alter her appearance. Since I cannot include both this, and the booster, I am designing this as an external piece that she will be able to interact with. The changes that this part will enact on the doll will be mostly cosmetic, altering her skin tone, changing hair color and the like. It will also contain additional material that may be used by the doll to increase the length of her hair, if that is the owners wish. While the changes will not affect anything more than the dolls appearance, they will be quite a bit more than merely make up. A nanotech fluid will coat the dolls skin, or hair, and leave behind a monomolecular layer of the same material that the skin and hair is constructed of, but of whatever color has been pre-selected. Once this layer bonds to the dolls skin and hair, it will be just as tough as the original colored materials."

"I think I agree with you," Nuri tells Maizy as the silver girl reaches out and turns off the monitor.

"Yeah, your dad is a real jerk," Immomu adds.

"Super Maizy can look like anyone!" Zuki grins, having been listening while the others watched the screen but continuing to poke around the lab. To prove her point, she hefts up a huge case, with the same emblem as the chest piece of Kaze's armor.

"Nice find, Zuki," Maizy says with a tired smile. "But now that we know how to reverse what happened to Kaze, I think it's time we went up and rescued Jura from her."

When the smaller girls reach the main lab floor, they find Jura out cold, and face down on the examination table, and Kaze back in frozen waiting position next to her on the floor.

"Get the collar off her," Maizy orders Nuri and Immomu, while she and Zuki check on Jura.

"Is she going to be okay?" Zuki asks, after poking Jura in the shoulder a couple of times and getting no response.

"Looks like Kaze just wore her out," Maizy answers, scanning Jura's life signs, and finding that she is just sleeping.

"Maizy? We have a problem over here," Nuri tells her.

"What now?" she growls as she spins around to look at the others. She gets a hand up to stop the object filling her vision right before it slaps her in the face. "Oh. Well, shit," she grumbles as she realizes that she's holding the collar, but Kaze is still trapped in slave mode.

"Now what do we do?" Immomu asks, clearly not happy that it wasn't as easy to free the larger girl as they had thought.

"It must take a command from her "owner" to release her," Maizy mutters.

"But who owns Super Maizy?" Zuki asks, still trying to prod Jura awake.

"No one. That's the problem," Maizy tells her, staring at her feet, without seeing anything while she thinks. "Unless," she says, her head snapping up, and her voice full of hope. "Unless she somehow imprinted Jura in that role when the collar went on. If that's the case, then we just need to get her back into the land of the living, and have her order Kaze to snap out of it."

"Owe. I hurt in places I didn't know I had," Jura groans as she turns her head to look at the others. "Oh, you're all back. Kaze moved, and she did things to me."

"We know. The fact that your clothes are shredded, and you were sleeping on the table where pretty good clues," Maizy tells her, keeping secret the fact that the entire episode was recorded.

"Why is she back like that again, if she was able to move before?" Jura asks, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position.

"It's part of a program that none of us knew she was set up with," Maizy tells her.

"And why did she call me "Mistress", before she did all that to me?" she asks, her face burning with the force of her blush as she remembers how good it felt while Kaze was manipulating her body.

"Jura lady had fun playing with Super Maizy!" Zuki laughs, while the others all breath a sigh of relief at hearing that Kaze recognizes Jura as her owner.

"Well, that should make things simpler," Immomu says.

"Yeah, she should just have to tell her to come back from slave mode," Nuri agrees.

"Right," Maizy nods. "Jura, I need you to order Kaze to return to normal operations. You're the only one she can hear or see while she's like this."

"Why me?" Jura asks, looking totally confused.

"Because while she's like this, she's imprinted you as her owner, and won't hear the commands from anyone else," Maizy explains.

"She _WHAT?" _Jura yells, taken completely off guard.

"Just tell her to resume normal operations," Maizy tells her, sounding tired.

"But…But I'm not her owner!" Jura blurts out. "She was helping me get past some of _my_ problems, how did this happen?"

"I told you, it was a hidden program. We just found out about it, and how to reverse the effects, while you two were busy up here," Maizy tells her, quickly losing patience with the dark skinned girl.

"Jura lady needs to calm down, before she says something that causes Super Maizy to start doing things again," Zuki tells her with a grin.

"_WHAT?_" Jura squawks in surprise.

"_JURA!_" Maizy snarls, loud enough that the other girls cover their ears. "Tell Kaze to resume normal operations, or I'm going to lose my temper, and start broiling your tail until you do as I've told you!"

"Kaze, I order you to resume normal operations," Jura squeaks in a small voice.

The effect is instantaneous, as Kaze doesn't lose a moment in jumping back to her feet.

"_THANK YOU!_" she blurts out. Then she realizes that there is more than just Jura in the room with them. "Um, I don't suppose any of you guys have any idea what happened to me?" she asks, scratching the back of her head.

"Super Maizy needs to go down stairs and watch the video!" Zuki cheers.

"Who is this, as why is she calling me Super Maizy?" Kaze asks.

"I'm Zuki!" she grins.

"And I think she's named you that, because with the red hair, you _do_ look like a much bigger version of the boss here," Nuri adds, jerking a thumb at Maizy.

"Anyway, the Huggle Monster has a good point," Maizy says. "You guys need to come down and see what the old pervert has to say about you."

"You found something from Father about me?" Kaze asks.

"Yeah, but it's not exactly flattering. Come on, I'll let him tell you," Maizy says, leading the way back down to the hidden lab.

"That's all we are to him?" Kaze moans in disgust after watching the video of the professors journal.

"He's no better than the people from the lab," Jura hisses, seriously pissed over how he thinks of Kaze, and her sisters, as nothing more than _things_, that exist for no other reason than to make his reputation, and bank account, bigger.

"My own creator programmed me to be a freaking slave-bot. So much for being a hero," Kaze mutters, sinking into a chair, and putting her face into her hands.

"He's done that kind of thing before," Maizy tells them. Once she has Kaze's attention again, she continues. "Remember Ryoko? That poor cyber doll was nothing more than a robot programmed to be his sex partner and house keeper. She didn't even have the A.I. programming to realize that she was nothing more to him than a tool, and something for the old bastard to get his rocks off with."

"What _did_ happen to her?" Jura asks. "He said he retrofitted her with weapons, and used her as a "proof of concept" design. Whatever that means."

"He powered her systems down, and locked her in a closet while he went with the military to create Zoe," Maizy says, a faint shimmering of the air around her the first signal of her rising temper. "And she stayed there, until Zoe came home, and reactivated her."

"So where has she been hiding?" Kaze asks, not having put all the pieces together yet.

"Right in front of you," Maizy answers with a smirk. "_I_ was Ryoko."

"But, you're not some mindless little sex-bot!" Jura blurts out.

"Thanks for noticing," Maizy smiles, for a moment, before continuing. "But anyway, like I said, I was powered down and locked in that closet for years. He didn't even bother to reactivate Ryoko when he came back and started work on you, Kaze."

Zuki's outburst of laughter cuts off any further discussion.

"I thought you were watching her?" Immomu says as she turns to Nuri.

"She was right next to me a second ago!" Nuri squawks in surprise.

Zuki's uncontrollable laughter causes everyone to start searching the hidden lab for her. It doesn't take long for Maizy to find her, rolling on the floor, and giggling like a loon.

"What's wrong with her?" Jura asks, as she gently picks the little green bundle of energy. "I know she's abnormally happy, but this can't be normal."

"You're right, it's not normal. But I'll be damned if I know what she got into," Maizy answers her, hovering over her friend as she continues to laugh and squirm in Jura's grip.

"I think I know," Kaze says, having found a beam emitter pointed at the spot where they had found the purple haired girl.

"What did that madman leave armed down here?" Maizy demands, her voice cracking in anger.

"Is she going to be alright?" Immomu asks, having climbed up Jura's back, and staring over her shoulder.

"She should be," Kaze answers, having turned on the display, and is busy scanning the information. "According to this, she managed to shoot herself with a "non-violent, ecologically friendly, anti-personnel weapon." Dr. asshole calls it a laugh blaster," she growls.

"That has got to be one of the stupidest names I have ever heard for a weapons system," Maizy shakes her head.

"Oh, it gets better," Kaze tells her. "Apparently, I've got one in me, too."

"That was fun! Almost better than a good hug!" Zuki gasps, barely able to breath after laughing that long and hard.

"Ah, there it is," Kaze mutters. "It's not even listed in my weapons selection. It's actually listed under what I call the "toy list for adult moments".

"So he planned for you to use then on whoever you where "playing" with?" Maizy asks, unable to contain a smirk. "God our father has a warped sense of humor."

"Yeah, but as you can see, the effects are temporary," Kaze says, while Zuki, is finally able to catch her breath.

"Shoot Nuri with the Giggle Mazer!" Zuki laughs.

"Thank you, no," Nuri returns, carefully putting Jura between herself and Kaze.

"So that's what happened. I had wondered how such a timid girl could suddenly become violent enough to do that," Mandy says, sitting back in her chair.

"I don't think she was even really awake, when she did it," Gina tells her.

"And that is something else that concerns me," Mandy says. "She only used a single burst of power, and it was enough to knock her out?"

"Now that you mention it, that is pretty strange for a Godzilla," Zoe agrees. "Normally you girls have power to burn," she adds to Gina.

"And she recovered fairly fast, after I propped her head up on my lap," Gina adds in a thoughtful voice. "Do you think it's possible that her energy reserves are that low? If she leached some radiation from me while we were in contact, it would account for how quickly she started to come around."

"I think you should take one of those "care packages" that Milenna whipped up for you to use during emergencies," Mandy agrees. "If she is operating at that low a level, then we should see to it that she is properly fed."

Zoe jerks suddenly, before putting her head in her hands. "Now what?" she mutters.

"Problem?" Mandy asks.

"Yes. Someone just tripped a silent alarm, in a very dangerous part of the house," Zoe answers. "I really need to go."

"Then go. I've gotten everything I needed. Dizzy started everything, and Gabrielle was just an unfortunate misunderstanding, mostly due to Jura not being fully conscious," Mandy agrees.

"Wait up, I'll come with," Gina tells Zoe. "I've got one of those packages in my locker, so just a quick stop, and then you can fly us to your house."

"Sounds like a plan," Zoe agrees as she leads the way out of Mandy's office.

"Good luck," Mandy whispers with a smirk, as the door closes.

"Everyone, back upstairs. I want to lock this place back down again before Zoe gets home," Maizy orders. "Oh, and Kaze, that case on the table is yours. Take it with you."

"Got it," she answers as she grabs the case containing her "costume change kit".

"You're a little late for that," Zoe says, a cold look on her face as she exits the access tunnel, with Gina following close behind. "Now if I don't get a _damn_ good explanation for you all being in here, I'm going to see to it that the lot of you are grounded for a month! And that goes for you three as well," she adds, turning a look on Immomu, Nuri, and Zuki.

"It was kind of our fault," Kaze says.

"We accidentally triggered a one of Kaze's hidden programs," Jura adds. "Maizy brought us down here to figure out how to reverse what happened."

"_WHAT_ hidden programs?" Zoe growls.

"Nuri? Run the video again, would you?" Maizy says with a sigh.

"Well, while you sort this out, I need to have a little talk with Jura," Gina tells the group.

"Go ahead, we'll be up after we settle things with Zoe," Kaze tells her.

"Alright," she agrees, setting Zuki back down, pleased that she only staggers for an instant before being able to stand on her own. "Lead on," she says, following Gina back up to the main lab in the basement.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jura asks, once they clear the hidden doorway.

"Just a few questions about how you're feeling after what you've been through on your first day, Cousin," Gina returns, with a small smile at Jura's look of shock.

"Cousin? I don't have any idea about who my family may be, how can you call me a cousin?" she blurts out in a rush.

"Take a look at me Jura," she orders.

Jura stops talking, and takes her first close look at Gina.

"We're….the…..same…." Jura says in surprise. "Our coloring is different, and my tail is longer, but everything else…it's like someone made two different copies of the same person."

"Something like that," Gina returns with a bittersweet smile. "I have a pair of sisters, too. One, my older sister, has turned into someone who really doesn't give much of a damn for anyone but herself, and her lover. The other, my little sister….well let's just say that due to circumstances beyond her control, every time Kiga shows up, it involves nothing but heartbreak and sorrow for someone."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jura returns in a small voice.

"Yeah, me too," Gina agrees. "But back to the point of asking you up here. How do you feel? Do you feel like if you had to do anything serious, like use your powers, that you would fall down?"

"Yeah, but I always feel that way. Why do you ask?" Jura wonders.

"Because for me, that is a sign that I've let my energy reserves get too low, and that I need a radiation recharge," Gina answers her.

"Aside from the experiment that changed my colors, I've never been exposed to much radiation," Jura tells her.

"Then I think it's long past time that you found out what it's like to be at your full power," Gina tells her, pulling out of her book bag what looks like a fat soup thermos, covered with radiation symbols, and sealed with a thick bead of lead around the seam.

"What is that?" Jura asks, crouching down to get a better look at it.

"Think of it as a box lunch for a K-girl that has her own nuclear reactor to fuel," Gina tells her. "Milenna makes them for me, and after talking with Mandy, we thought you could use one."

"What's this going to do to me?" Jura asks, taking a step back.

"Well, if you and I are as much alike as I think we are, it's going to put an end to that drained feeling that you've been putting up with," Gina tells her.

"So what do I have to do?" Jura asks her,

"Just pop the top, and let your body do the rest," Gina grins at her.

With that, she gives the lid a half twist to break the seal, then hands the container to Jura.

"My god," Jura whispers as she removes the lid, and is bombarded by radiation from the tiny nugget of material inside.

Gina looks on with a satisfied smile as Jura seems to pulse, her body greedily absorbing every last bit of radiation from what is now a harmless rock.

Jura looks around in wonder. "It's amazing! Everything is so different! The colors as so sharp! And I feel like I can lift the house!" she blurts out.

"I'd offer to arm wrestle you, but you where too much for us to handle when you where drained," Gina smirks at her. Then she asks, "What other powers do you have?"

"Well, I heal really fast," Jura tells her, a scowl explaining how she discovered that ability. "And you saw the shockwave I can make. And once, I was able to make an energy blast, but they shocked me continuously until I wasn't able to do it anymore."

"Well, the shockwave isn't one of my powers, but the healing and the blast are," Gina tells her. "And after your little snack there, you should be able to use your energy blast again," she grins with a wave at the container.

"So what have you two been up to?" Kaze asks, as she leads the others back up out of the hidden lab, Zuki flying past her shoulder.

"HUGZ!" Zuki squeals, causing Gina to duck in self defense, leaving Jura wide open for Zuki's most feared attack.

"Quite the grip you've got, little one," Jura wheezes, as she hugs Zuki back.

"No…" Immomu says.

"Way….." Nuri Finishes for her, both of their jaws hanging open.

"I've never seen anyone able to take one of Zuki's hugs, without needing a trip to the hospital," Maizy mutters in wide eyed shock.

"Well, you have now," Zoe says with a smirk as she leans against the now closed door to the hidden lab.

"Jura lady's strong!" Zuki cheers, giving her another squeeze.

"So it seems," Jura agrees, shooting a grateful look to Gina.

"Well, it looks like I'm done here, so I'll be heading home," Gina tells them, before heading for the stairs.

"Thanks again!" Jura gasps out, her healing factor barely able to keep up with the damage that Zuki can do.

"Don't worry about it," Gina waves back.

"Kaze? Why don't you and Maizy take the girls home, and see if their sisters will let them stay here for a sleep over tonight?" Zoe suggests.

"Sure," Kaze answers, lifting Immomu up onto her shoulder.

"I'm liking how this day is going, despite how things went with Kaze," Maizy grins.

"SLEEPOVER!" Zuki squeals, flying in circles above everyone's heads.

"So what are we waiting for?" Nuri asks.

"What are we going to do?" Jura asks Zoe, as the others troop out.

"We are going to have a little talk, while we do some shopping," Zoe tells her. "We need snacks, and I thought I'd let you pick out some of the videos."

"Jackie Chan Movies!" Jura says, doing a very credible imitation of Zuki's joyful squeal.

"Let's go," Zoe grins, jerking a thumb toward the door.

"That was fun, if a little strange," Jura tells Kaze, after they have gone upstairs.

"Easy for you to say. I didn't think we _could_ snort things through our noses like organics can," Kaze mutters, her sinus' still burning from the soda that Zuki's antics had made her snort. "I feel like I've got fizz in my head," she complains.

"Oh, poor super robot. She can fight off violent K-girls, but can't handle a little jester?" Jura giggles as she picks on her.

"Hey, I'm programmed to know how to fight," Kaze returns defensively. "Dealing with Zuki is a completely different problem."

"I'll give you that. My back still twinges from her hugs," Jura admits with a wince.

"Want me to do something about that for you?" Kaze asks, a strange smile on her face as she opens the door to her room.

"What do you have in mind?" Jura asks, a funny feeling fluttering in her belly at Kaze's look.

"Lay down on your stomach, and I'll give you a massage," Kaze tells her.

"What's a massage?" Jura asks with a puzzled look.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Kaze smirks, as she puts a hand on Jura's shoulder and guides her into her room.

"Ooohhhh," Jura moans, while Kaze works the muscles in her back, loosening them.

"I take it you're enjoying yourself?" Kaze grins.

"As if you had a doubt?" Jura asks with a lazy look over her shoulder.

"With you moaning like that? Not really," Kaze teases.

"C'm'ere," Jura smirks, as she twists around, and grabs Kaze's shirt.

"My, my, aren't we forceful tonight?" Kaze says in surprise as Jura pulls her close.

"I feel like a whole new person," Jura agrees, before locking her lips with Kaze.

Chapter 7

"Up and at 'em!" Zoe calls as she hammers on Kaze's bedroom door.

"I'm up! I'm up," Kaze yells back, before rolling over.

"But are you ready to go?" Jura grins as Kaze ends up nose to nose with her.

"I don't know what happened to you yesterday, but you are insatiable," Kaze grins back, as she feels Jura's tail snake across her legs.

"Gina figured out why I always felt like I was tired all the time," Jura tells her.

"And why was that?" Kaze groans as Jura's tail finally finds its target between Kaze's legs.

"Well, I'm a Godzilla, who has been operating with almost no fuel for her reactor," Jura moans as Kaze starts returning the favor to her breasts.

"So, mmmm, what happened?" Kaze manages to get out, as Jura keeps her tail tip dancing between her legs.

"She brought me a snack," Jura groans as Kaze drops a hand to work on her crotch. "The kind that glows in the dark."

"You two are going to be late!" Maizy yells through the door.

"Not, oooooo, when I can fly us to school in two minutes flat," Kaze moans.

"Then I guess I need to finish you off," Jura grins, making her tail move in ways that Kaze had never imagined.

"Oh, my, _GOD!_" Kaze yells, just before the bed frame gives out, and drops the mattress to the floor with a "thump" that can be heard at the other end of the house.

"So was it good for you?" Jura asks.

It takes a while before either of them can stop laughing.

"They're going to need a new bed," Maizy reports, after Kaze and Jura take off, so Jura can change before school.

"I wondered what that noise was," Immomu says, as she and the others have a bowl of cereal.

"Super Maizy and Jura lady play rough, non?" Zuki giggles between bites as she shovels food in.

"Got that right. I could hear them across the house. All night long," Nuri grumbles.

"And the lot of you will be just as bad when you're older," Zoe smirks, as she grabs her stuff and heads for the front door.

"So what's the plan for today?" Kaze asks, as Jura changes clothes.

"Well after school, we are going to have to go and get new uniforms, since Dizzy ate yours, and you destroyed mine, yesterday," Jura answers her, stepping out of the bathroom wearing tight blue jeans and a lemon yellow blouse.

"Far as I'm concerned, they can stay gone. They are among the stupidest things I've ever seen, let alone been forced to wear," Kaze snorts, her leather pants, and tight black t-shirt standing in nicely as a reminder of her armor.

"School rules," Jura reminds her, only to be interrupted by a scratching noise as something is slid under her door.

"No one there," Kaze reports, having thrown the door open to try and catch sight of whom ever had slid the note in.

"Someone wants to meet with me after school," Jura tells her, reading the note.

"What for?" Kaze asks.

"Says to "discuss the events that occurred yesterday at lunch". I wonder why they want to talk to me about your fight with Dizzy?" she answers.

"No idea. Want some company?" Kaze offers.

"Like I could turn you down?" Jura smirks.

"Well, you haven't yet, but you _are_ the one in control of our relationship," Kaze reminds her.

"And I have no intention of ever putting you into that kind of position ever again," Jura assures her. "Although it might be fun to play around with the make-up kit your farther left you."

"Maybe later," Kaze grins.

"Good. But for now, we need to get to class," Jura reminds her, heading toward the door.

"Yes Mistress," Kaze smirks, following in her wake.

"Well, It's nice to see that not every day has to involve you blowing up large portions of the commons," Gina grins, as she walks past Kaze and Jura to get to where Zoe and the others of her group have collected.

"Oh, like the rest of you are any better," Kaze shoots back with a grin of her own.

"Oh, behave," Jura tells her with a playful swat.

"Ah, shaddap and eat your lunch, woman!" Kaze jokes back.

Jura's sole response is to stick her tongue out at her, before taking another bite.

"So where is your meeting supposed to take place?" Kaze asks, as she and Jura exit the Schools front doors.

"The commons," Jura answers her.

"Then let's go," Kaze says.

"Not so fast you chrome plated bimbo," Dizzy snarls from behind them.

With a sigh, Kaze stops, and tells Jura, "Go on. I'll catch up to after I deal with this."

"You sure? You don't want any help?" Jura asks.

"I'll be fine. I know what to expect out of her now," Kaze tells her, before turning her back on Jura and activating her choker, summoning her armor.

"Make damn sure you come back in one piece, or I'm not going to be very happy with you," Jura tells her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving Kaze with her sparring partner.

"Oh, no worries there," Kaze mutters.

"Is the other one gone yet?" Crystal asks over her shoulder.

"Off to her meeting with Gabby," a yellow spider girl answers, as she steps away from the edge of the roof.

"Well then, it seems like it's time for us to make our appearance," The blue saurian says with a smirk.

"Not just yet. I missed the new ones fight with Dizzy yesterday, and I don't like jumping into a fight without any information," a third voice adds, as she steps away from the shadows near the roof access, and joins the others near the edge.

"Donna, isn't it enough to know that she claimed that no one had what it takes to stand up to her?" the spider asks.

"Don't give me that crap, Kumi. I'm not nearly dumb enough to take the word of you two on that," the ape girl returns.

"Then how long do you want us to wait? You know she busted Dizzy's chops pretty good last time," Kumi returns.

At the sound off the first explosion from below, Crystal takes matters into her own hands.

"We're going now," she announces as she gathers the others in a gentle telekinetic grip, and lowers them over the edge, to come down behind Kaze.

"You're not going to walk all over me this time, bitch," Dizzy snarls, as the smoke from their first exchange of powers drifts clear.

"Really? I did it easy enough last time, and you had the advantages of surprise on your side then," Kaze shoots back.

"Still do," Dizzy smirks as Kaze is dropped to her knees from an impact to her shoulder.

"What the hell?" Kaze snarls as she spins around, to find several crystals levitating around the Blue Saurian, while the spider and the ape girl spread out to either side.

"This is going to be fun," Kumi grins, preparing herself for whatever action Kaze may take.

"Great, and now I have to put up with the others playing "monkey see, monkey do" while I deal with you and the crystal slinger," Kaze mutters, turning back to Dizzy.

"I. Am. Not. A. _MONKEY!_" Donna roars, as she leaps at Kaze, delivering a vicious spin kick to the back of her head.

Knocked flat on her face from the blow, Kaze never the less returns, "Maybe not, but you're just as easy to piss off as Maizy, and that means I know how to deal with you, Banana Breath." Then she activates her flight pack, the wings extending as she activates the thrusters, scratching up her chest plate, as she blitz's Dizzy. "Remember this one?" she asks, as she cracks Dizzy in the face on her way past.

"Not so fast, Mazinger," Crystal orders, several of the floating crystals shooting forward to hit Kaze from behind.

"You do like shooting me in the back, don't you?" Kaze snarls, as she turns back to face the blue saurian, only to get a face full of webbing from Kumi.

"Let's see how well you fight with your eyes covered," Kumi gloats.

"You talk too much," Kaze mumbles, before blasting her blindfold.

"OOF!" Kumi grunts, as the weekend blast catches her in the chest, and knocks her against the building, and out of the fight.

"You're going to pay for that," Crystal snarls, energy crackling as it gathers around her horn.

"Die bitch!" Dizzy snarls, as she unleashes a micro oxygen blast at Kaze's back.

Kaze dives to the side, barely avoiding the impact of the MO blast, and Crystals Corona Beam.

"Defiantly don't want to get caught between them," she mutters, as she drags herself back to her feet.

"Forget about me?" Donna asks, grabbing Kaze and hurling her toward the building.

"I'm starting to get annoyed with the lot of you," Kaze returns, after slamming into the building. "And I'm about done playing around. Mazin-Go."

"Assault Mode Activated" flashes in her vision as the faceguard slides from her helmet and covers her face.

Turning to face Crystal, she points a finger at Donna and says, "Stay out of the rest of this fight, or you're going to end up in worse shape than the spider."

"As if your empty threats are going to scare me?" Donna snarls as she breaks into a charge.

"I warned you," Kaze growls, before the hand pointing at Donna launches, the rocket punch catching the ape girl by surprise.

Donna is knocked back off her feet, and sent skidding across the grass, where she starts coughing up blood.

"_That's not good,"_ she thinks, blood covering her hand. "_Must have broken half my ribs with that shot."_

"Who's next?" Kaze snarls, as her arm flies back and reattaches.

"I hope she doesn't hurt Dizzy too badly," Jura mutters as she listens to the sounds of combat.

"So you came after all," a voice from around the corner says.

"Why did you want to see me?" Jura demands, suddenly having a bad feeling about the meeting.

"Why, for revenge of course," Gabrielle snarls as she steps into sight, her twin black eyes, and taped up nose a testament to what Jura had done to her. "You surprised me, and hurt me. Now it's payback time!" she yells as she unleashes a blast of lightning from her horn that knocks Jura off her feet, and sends her skidding backward, until she comes to a stop against a pair of black leather clad legs.

"Who are you?" Jura asks, wincing at the electrical burn on her chest as it heals.

The new arrival merely reaches down and picks Jura up by one shoulder, before delivering a gut punch that sends her skidding back toward Gabrielle.

"Cyganna? Why are you here?" Gabrielle asks, as she takes the opportunity to kick Jura in the gut before she can get to her feet.

"She hurt a friend of mine, and that isn't allowed," the Gigan girl says, as she reaches up over each shoulder and draws the blades held there. Sticking her hands in to the openings for them, she then clashes them together, before assuming a combat pose, and slowly closing in on Jura, where she is curled up while her wounds quickly heal.

"What are you doing?" a voice demands.

"Suffering," Jura answers, still curled into a ball of pain.

"If you don't do _something,_ they are going to kill you," the voice tells her.

"What can I do? The last time I fought back, the lab was destroyed, and everyone there was killed," Jura answers, slowly uncurling from her position on the ground.

"Then let me out, and I'll do it for you," the voice continues, as a shadowy form appears standing above her.

"That's what happened, last time," Jura growls. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to let you do that again without a damn good reason!"

"Then you need to start fighting back against the two who are going to kill you, otherwise we both die," the shadow tells her.

"I can't!" Jura wails.

"Bullshit!" the shadow snarls back. "You still know how to do that shockwave attack, and you have the energy to actually use your powers for the first time in your life!"

"But I'm not a fighter!" Jura cries.

"Then use me!" the shadow cries, waving its arms.

"You just want to take over my body again like when you beat the hell out of that girl yesterday!" Jura snarls at the shadow.

"For your information, she is one of the people currently planning to beat and or slice you to death," the shadow returns.

"It's your fault!" Jura screams.

"If you would work with me, instead of making me do it all, you would have some say in how far things go," the shadow points out, as it grows more and more distinct.

"But I don't trust you," Jura tells she shadowy K-girl.

"And that is why you're getting your ass kicked," the shadow version of Jura responds. "If you can't trust your own instincts, then you freeze up in a crisis. Like fighting for your life. That kind of crisis."

"I'm not ready to die yet. I'm just learning how to live," Jura says in a small voice.

"Then work with me!" her shadow self cries.

"I say when it's enough, Clear?" Jura says, a hint of steel in her voice.

"Just meet me half way," her shadow self answers, holding out a hand to her.

Jura reaches up and takes the shadows hand.

"And _this_ is for breaking my nose!" Gabrielle continues to rant, punctuating each comment with another kick.

"Let me know when you're done, so I can finish her off," Cyganna tells her, still on guard, and prepared for anything.

Except the explosion of blue energy that throws both her and Gabrielle in different directions away from Jura.

"I was planning to find you, so I could apologize about that," Jura growls as she slowly gets to her feet, her hair floating above her head on the currents of the energy she is channeling. "But you obviously won't accept an "I'm Sorry" about that, any more than I will about this."

"Time to die," Cyganna snarls, her visor flashing as she releases a blast, the beam splitting and detonating all around Jura.

The blast sends Jura flying again, but this time, when she hits, she maneuvers to get her feet under her, and uses her claws to slow her skid.

"Stay down already!" Gabrielle growls as another blast of lightning hits Jura in the back.

"Try harder," Jura tells her, not having budged an inch.

"Why you arrogant …"Gabrielle snarls as she rushes Jura from behind.

"Gabrielle! Don't!" Cyganna yells, rushing forward.

"Take a load off," Jura growls, spinning around and smashing her tail into Gabrielle's chest.

When she lands, she doesn't get back up.

With a wordless scream of rage, Cyganna starts slashing at Jura, drawing blood with each swing, until Jura manages to catch one of the blades, and uses her grip to throw Cyganna away from her.

Recovering in mid air, Cyganna re-orients herself, and unleashes another blast from her visor, knocking Jura off her feet once more from the detonation.

"I'm starting to get really tired of that," Jura mutters as she picks herself back up again.

"What will it take to keep you down?" Cyganna mutters to herself.

"With those blades, I would have thought you'd have more skills," Jura says, as she stalks closer.

"Try this," the Gigan girl snarls as she points her left blade at Jura, and launches a pair of spikes from the hilt, connected by chains.

Jura gets a hand up, and the spikes punch right through, making her scream in pain.

"Oh, poor little monster girl," Cyganna says with an evil grin.

"Laugh this off, bitch," Jura snarls, as she clenches her violated hand into a fist, and screams. Pulses of blue energy shoot down the chains, making Cyganna dance as if she was caught in a bug zapper. As Cyganna collapses into a smoking heap, Jura screams again as she yanks the spikes out of her hand. "Next time, I won't be so nice," she growls, before heading back to where she left Kaze.

"_This is starting to turn into a no win situation,_" Kaze thinks as she is pelted from all sides by crystals and low power micro oxygen blasts. "Do you ever fight a battle where you _don't_ call out your swarm to do most of it for you?" she calls at Dizzy.

"It's just her way," Crystal smirks, as she causes crystal spires to rise from the ground around the battlefield. With the spires sending energy to her, she powers up another Corona Beam, and knocks Kaze across the field to slam into a tree.

Before either Dizzy or Crystal can follow up on that attack, a river of blue energy slams into Crystals back, and propels her into Dizzy, before slamming the both of them into a wall, leaving a scorched pattern around the spot where they hit.

"Leave her alone," Jura snarls as she storms into the arena, her scorched, slashed, and bloodstained clothes flapping in the breeze.

"Ouch, that's going to leave a mark," Kaze smirks, as she gets her first look at what happened to Crystal and Dizzy.

"Go check on the other two, while I have a few words with this pair," Jura orders her, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, Ma'am," Kaze answers, shivering at Jura's tone. A quick check of Kumi reveals that she is just out cold. Moving to Donna, Kaze is shocked at what she finds.

"You sure pack a punch," Donna gasps, blood flecking her mouth.

"How bad did I bust you up?" Kaze asks, scanning her.

"Think you got most of my ribs with that last shot," Donna answers, with another soggy cough.

"Shit, I've gotta get you to the nurse," Kaze says as she lifts the ape girl as gently as she can.

"Thanks," Donna wheezes.

"Babe? Got one napping, and this one needs a Doc," Kaze calls to Jura.

"Take care of her," Jura orders, as she grabs both Crystal and Dizzy around the neck.

"Hang on," Jura tells Donna as she spreads her wings.

The take off makes Donna feel like she's just been punched again.

"I want to know why the lot of you attacked us," Jura growls, giving Dizzy a shake.

"She said that Kumi and I could have a half dozen of her mini's to use as messengers and spies if we helped her," Crystal answers, using her telekinesis to uproot one of the spires and maneuver it around behind Jura.

"Gabby wanted us to keep your robotic guard dog busy, while she took her shot at you," Dizzy smirks, only to have Jura tighten her grip.

"You talk about her like that again, and I'll pop your head like a zit," Jura snarls in her face, while Dizzy's face turns a much deeper shade of purple. After a moment of Dizzy beating ineffectually at Jura's arm, she relents and lets the Destoroyah girl have some air.

"Why don't you let us go," Crystal suggests, not at all happy with what she's feeling through her empathy.

"Why don't you zip it, unless you have something useful to add," Jura tells her.

"Like this?" she smirks as the spire slams into Jura's back, shattering.

With a wince, Jura glares as Crystal and growls, "If you do that again, I will crush the crystals on your shoulders."

Crystal pales as she feels that the threat is real.

"What do you want" Crystal asks, disgusted at being at someone's mercy.

"You're going to leave us the hell alone, or I'm going to give your spider a lovely pair of crystal ear rings. _After_ I rip them out of your hide," Jura answers.

"You're actually going to take tha-URK!" Dizzy starts to say, before Jura's grip cuts her off again.

Crystal turns nearly white at that, before snarling at Dizzy, "She not bluffing, you stupid blond."

"I'm so glad we understand each other," Jura says, dropping both girls, and walking towards the nurse's office.

"She's crazier than Kiga," Dizzy gasps, massaging her throat.

"No she isn't," Crystal tells her. "It might kill part of her to follow through with those threats, but she will do it if she's forced to."

"How do you know that?" Dizzy demands.

"I'm psychic you dumb ass! I felt everything she did while she was holding us," Crystal snarls. "She's not crazy, and she's not nearly as violent as she was trying to make us believe. But she _will_ follow through with her threats, if we don't leave her and her Mazinger alone."

"I'm not afraid of her," Dizzy growls, puffing herself up.

"Then you're even dumber than I gave you credit for," Crystal says over her shoulder as she goes to check on Kumi.

"Why does she have you so spooked?" Dizzy demands.

"I'm not "spooked", you moron. It's called "respecting something that can hurt you". Most of you aren't smart enough to be a threat, despite your powers," She answers. "This one though, she just wants to be left in peace, and for a change, I'm inclined to grant that."

"You _are_ afraid of her!" Dizzy realizes, her jaw hanging open in shock.

"Shut up Dizzy," Crystal snarls as another spire shoots in and slams into Dizzy's head, knocking her out.

Jura only makes it halfway to the nurse's office before she collapses to her knees, and begins to shiver, tears streaking her face.

"You going to be alright?" Kaze asks.

"I don't know," Jura mutters. Then she looks up in surprise, and asks, "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago," she answers, sitting down so she can wrap an arm around her lover. "But you just looked like you needed to be left alone for a little bit."

"No. I don't want to be alone ever again," Jura sniffles.

"I can help make that wish come true," Kaze tells her.

"What, going to spend your entire life as my constant bodyguard?" Jura asks, trying to make a joke.

"Not exactly," Kaze returns with a gentle smile.

"What then?" Jura asks, completely baffled by Kaze's comments.

"Let's go," Kaze tells her, helping her to her feet. "You need to get cleaned up, and get some clothes that don't look like they've been through a wood chipper."

"The wood chipper was named Cyganna," Jura says with a little laugh.

"I'll remember that, so I can give her a rocket powered knuckle sandwich," Kaze growls.

"No!" Jura tells her, dragging her to a stop and making her look at her. "No more fighting, unless they don't give us a choice. I said things, and did things today that make me sick. Fighting to defend ourselves or someone else is one thing, but I want you to promise me that you won't go looking for trouble."

"You have my word on that," Kaze tells her. Then she cracks a smirk and adds, "We don't need to look for trouble anyway. It seems to find us just fine regardless."

Jura gives her a tired chuckle for that crack. "Just so we agree."

"You don't need to worry about me going looking for more trouble," Kaze assures her as they walk up the steps to her dorm.

"I don't like this place," Jura mutters as they move down the hall to her room.

"Get yourself cleaned up," Kaze tells her.

"Darcy is going to be mad," Jura says sadly. "Half of the clothes she's made for me have been wrecked."

"She's not going to get mad at you for that," Kaze assures her. "It just means she gets to make you more. She _lives_ to be able to design clothes for K-Girls. If she couldn't she would be bored out of her mind."

"Well, we certainly give her plenty of opportunities," Jura smiles tiredly as she gathers a fresh outfit, and steps into her tiny bathroom.

"Is there anything in here besides your clothes that you want to take with you?" Kaze asks when Jura emerges from the bathroom.

"Where am I going?" Jura asks, confused.

"Well, you said you didn't want to be alone, and that you didn't like it here," Kaze reminds her.

"And? Where else am I supposed to live? The school is the only place willing to have me," Jura shoots back.

"Then I should tell Zoe that you don't want to come live with us?" Kaze asks.

Jura stands there gaping like a fish for several moments, before she throws herself at Kaze, knocking the both of them down onto the bed as their lips find each other. After finally coming up for air, she asks," But where am I going to sleep? "

"Well, I have a few suggestions along those lines," Kaze answers her, with an evil little grin.

"I'm sure you do," Jura says, matching her grin.

"Here," Kaze says as she shoves a bundle at Jura as they get back up off the bed.

"What's this," she asks.

"Your stuff," Kaze answers her. "Now let's get the hell out of here, before some more trouble finds us."

"Welcome home," Zoe says as she opens the front door for them.

Jura responds by pulling Zoe into a hug that is a match for Zuki, without the collateral damage. "Thank you," she repeats several times, before she finally releases the retired hero.

"Take her upstairs, and get her settled in," Zoe tells her sister.

"Will do," Kaze smiles, as she puts a hand behind Jura and guides her back upstairs.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Maizy asks, after Zoe closes the door.

"You saw how she reacted," Zoe tells her. "How can giving her a real home be a bad idea? And anyway, do you have a good reason that you can give Kaze why Jura _can't _live here?"

"No, I don't. I just felt the need to ask," Maizy says as she turns to go about her business. "This place just won't be the same, with someone like her running around."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Zoe smirks.

"You kidding? It's going to kill that old pervert when he finds out how many hot girls are living in his house, and he can't do a damn thing about it," Maizy grins, leaving Zoe laughing.

The beginning….


	2. Chapter 2

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

It has been two months since Jura has come to live with the Mazinger sisters.

She has made herself a part of the household, helping out with the cleaning, and cooking. She has also befriended Megan, and can sometimes be found in the school library reading, as she continues to bring herself up to speed on how the world works.

Kaze has gotten a part time job delivering Pizza's for Shirow's, and has managed to anger all the other delivery people by getting bigger tips than the rest of them put together.

Zoe is still keeping her night job hidden from the others, while managing to keep the peace around the house.

And Maizy….. has made a few new acquaintances, and has managed to use one of them to infiltrate spy cameras into almost every dorm room and apartment of every K-girl. Needless to say, is getting more hits per day than all but the most popular international porn sites.

"So what is everyone doing….this….afternoon…." Maizy trails off as she enters the kitchen, and gets her first look at Kaze.

Kaze just blushes redder, and attempts to hide behind her hair.

"Alright, I'll bite," Maizy says, looking back and forth between Zoe and Jura. "Why has she been turned into a cat girl?"

"She lost a bet," Zoe smirks over her cup of coffee.

"Do I even want to ask?" Maizy asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I smoked her in Halo 2," Jura grins, as she moves up behind Kaze, and starts rubbing one of her blue neko ears, making the larger girl purr.

"How did you learn to play the game well enough to waste a combat programmed cyber doll?" Maizy asks, surprised.

"She lucked out with her partner," Kaze mutters darkly, despite the feelings of pleasure Jura's attentions send through her.

"Details? Please?" Maizy asks, completely lost.

"It was a team death match," Jura begins. "Kaze ended up with a pair of new people, and some of the guys from school on her team. I had a few more new people on my team, as well as Cockroach17."

Maizy grins like a loon at that. "No wonder you managed to stomp her. With the mystery champ on your team, she didn't stand a chance."

"Tell me about it," Kaze grumbles.

"Let's go," Jura tells her with another scratch. "We need to drop by Darcy's before School."

"Why?" Zoe asks.

"Because _some one _needs some clothes that are altered for her tail to fit through," Jura grins.

"But she doesn't have a tail…." Maizy starts, only to trail off as Kaze stands up, and she gets a look at the long blue tail dropping out the bottom of Kaze's mini-skirt.

At Maizy's look, Kaze just nods, "Yeah, she got to pick out my clothes too."

"The mini-skirt and tube top really set off the tail and ears, don't they?" Jura grins wickedly.

Kaze's tail twitches in irritation, so Zoe asks, "Where did she even _get_ a tail? And why did she react when you scratched her neko ears?"

"Dad," Kaze mutters. "There was more in that "make-up kit" than just the stuff to change my skin tone and hair color. The pervert had tails and ears, and even a few "toys" in there. Even different optics for me," she adds, leaning in close so that they can see her catlike eyes.

"Oh, you enjoyed playing with all that stuff the first time out, and you know it," Jura grins at her.

"That was before I got stuck wearing it all out in public," Kaze growls as she turns to leave.

"You shouldn't make bets, if your not prepared to pay the bill," Jura grins as she follows.

"I still think you would look better in the French Maid outfit as you clean," Kaze shoots back with a leer.

"Who knows? You may just get your wish one of these days," Jura answers, as she closes the door behind them.

"Well, you have to admit, they keep it interesting," Zoe grins as she puts her cup in the sink, and gathers up her stuff to leave.

"No argument there," Maizy agrees, silently wishing that everyone would leave so she can go check over the footage from her hidden cameras and start editing things for her website.

"I'll be late getting back, so try to avoid destroying anything today, alright?" Zoe says with a smile at the old joke.

"Bah, like it would be worth the effort to blow up anything around here," Maizy retorts, smirking despite herself as Zoe leaves. "God, we sound just like a real family," she realizes in wonder.

"Do I really have to stay like this for a week?" Kaze whines as they enter Darcy's shop.

"You where the one who made the rules for the bet," Jura reminds her.

"Sneaky underhanded Godzilla, set me up, just can't prove it," Kaze mutters under her breath.

"What brings you girls in so early today?" Darcy asks, as she just appears out of the racks.

Jura lets out a startled "EEP!" before she can stop herself. "You like to make people jump, don't you?" she demands, as she turns to face the seamstress.

"You girls can level the town if you put your minds to it," Darcy answers with a grin. "So I have to keep you guessing."

Kaze's snicker reminds Jura of why they are there.

"Anyway, Kitty here, needs some tailoring to a couple of outfits, to accommodate her new tail," Jura tells her.

"That's not funny," Kaze sulks, clearly not happy with that name.

"What did you get into?" Darcy asks, taking her first good look at Kaze, and noticing the new ears and tail.

"I lost a bet," Kaze grumbles, making Darcy laugh out loud.

"Remind me to stay clear of any poker games you girls might have," Darcy says, as she tugs Kaze back toward the fitting rooms. "Now then, you know the drill. I'll need to measure you so I can get the hole in your britches placed properly."

"I think you just like running your hands over naked girls," Kaze shoots back with a smirk.

"Could be. Of course, I'd never admit it, even if it was true," Darcy responds, pushing Kaze into the fitting room before her.

"This isn't funny," Kaze says, annoyed at the jingle of the bell at her throat as she walks.

"Sorry, but when Darcy suggested it, I couldn't resist," Jura grins, flicking the bell collar for the heck of it.

"You _know_ what happens to me when you put a collar on me!" Kaze blurts out.

"Yes I do," Jura agrees. "That's why I asked Darcy to put it on you. Since you can't have two owners, it wouldn't trip your programming to have her do it."

"How did you figure that out?" Kaze demands.

"You think I've just been reading manga when I'm in the library?" Jura snorts. "Megan has been helping me find all kinds of useful things to read."

Kaze just growls in frustration as they enter the school grounds.

"Get a move on, or we'll be late!" Jura tells her, as she breaks into a run, her tail brushing Kaze's leg as it flashes past.

"This is going to be a long day," Kaze mutters as she increases her pace a bit.

She makes it to class, just before the final bell.

"I'm getting really tired of being called "cute" all the time," Kaze growls as she and Jura sit at one of the outdoor tables eating the lunches that Jura had made them.

"You made the rules. Loser has to wear what the winner wants them to for a week," Jura reminds her again.

"Do you know how weird it feels to have to go through the day with a tail?" Kaze blurts out.

"No, I have no clue how it feels to go through the day with a tail," Jura answers her, the sarcasm thick enough to walk on.

"And I've had to put up with people petting it, and wanting to scratch my ears in every class! It's driving me nuts!" Kaze continues as if Jura hadn't spoken.

"But you're just so damn cute!" Jura tells her, reaching over to scratch her neko ears.

"Hmmm," Kaze groans, before she can stop herself. "Knock that off," she snarls, slapping Jura's hand away.

"Hey," Jura yelps, shaking her stinging hand.

"This isn't nearly as much fun as you seem to think it is," Kaze growls.

Before Jura can say anything else, their table is surrounded by Cessy, Mina, Meo, Ebi, and Organna.

"Can we scratch your ears?" they chorus as one.

"Sorry girls, but she's spoken for," Jura tells them.

"But she's so cute!" they chorus again.

"Maybe later," Jura tells them as she takes Kaze's hand and leads her off.

"Ohhh," the five groan in unison before turning and going their separate ways.

"I'm beginning to see what you're griping about," Jura admits.

"Then you'll let me out of the bet?" Kaze asks hopefully.

"Not quite. You won't have to wear it to school again, but you _will_ have to wear it around the house for the rest of the week," Jura tells her.

"Then get it off me," Kaze orders.

"I said "again". You still have to go through the rest of today," Jura tells her, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"You're heartless," Kaze groans.

"That's not what you said last night," Jura reminds her as she pulls her head down for a kiss.

"God, this is great! At a thousand yen a download, My account is growing faster than I ever expected," Maizy gloats as she checks her bank balance. "At this rate, I'll never have to work a real job, ever!"

"Ah've come for my moofinth," someone behind her says, with a horrible lisp.

"Aggy, I could kiss you," Maizy grins as she turns around. "The footage from the camera you put in Dizzy's place is one of the hottest things going right now."

"Good. Dithy'th a bith, tho it therth her right," Aggy returns, the little Dizzlet displaying a spiteful grin.

"Come on, I've got your payment downstairs," Maizy tells the smaller girl, leading her down to the kitchen.

"All thethe are for me?" the little aggregate asks, her eyes wide at the stack of muffin boxes that Maizy has acquired for her.

"You did a _great_ job for me, and I always pay my debts," Maizy tells her.

"But I can't carry all thith thtuff by mythelf!" Aggy tells her. "It'll take me all day to mooth it!"

"Where do you want it?" Maizy grins as she starts bagging the pile.

"You're going to help me mooth it?" Aggy asks in surprise.

"Aggy, one thing you're going to learn when you deal with me is, I _always_ stand by my friends. And given how much help you've been, how could I think of you otherwise?" Maizy tells the Dizzlet.

"Thankth, Both!" Aggy cheers.

"Now then, where am I flying all this stuff," Maizy asks with a grin.

"Watcher four to base," a man in a utility workers uniform says into a hidden mic as he pretends to work on a power transformer near the Nagai mansion.

"Go ahead four," a voice responds into his ear piece.

"So far, intelligence seems to be accurate. There are two Mazinger Cyber Dolls in residence. Additionally, there appears to be a third mechanical in residence, as well as what has been identified as a K-Girl," the man informs his controllers.

"Have you acquired any visuals for us?" the controller inquires.

"Stills only, but I don't dare risk that kind of a transmission this close to them," the watcher replies.

"Understood. Return to base, and we will send out another, to keep from arousing their suspicions. Mazingers are notoriously dangerous when they find out that people are taking an interest in them," control tells the man.

"Roger that, I am returning to base," the man says as he finishes his supposed repairs, and packs up his truck, before leaving the area.

"You going to wait for me at Shirow's, while I run the deliveries?" Kaze asks, as she and Jura leave their last class.

"Megan has some more stuff for me, so walk me to the Library, and I'll pick it up, then I'd be happy to wait for you," Jura tells her.

"I can't believe that you and the bookworm get along as well as you do," Kaze says, her tail twitching as they go.

"Don't let her hear you call her that," Jura smirks, as they enter the library.

"Why? What can she do to me?" Kaze asks, curious.

"The last guy that called me a bookworm regretted it about an hour later," Megan scowls as they walk up.

"What did you do to him?" Kaze asks.

"Annihilated his team, and blew his head off with a shotgun," Megan returns, then smirks at the shocked look on Kaze's face.

"You _WHAT?_" Kaze squawks.

"It was his last re-spawn, so he was done," Megan grins.

"Re-spawn?" Kaze trails off, before it all falls together for her. "You! You're Cockroach17!"

"Keep that to yourself," Jura hisses at her.

"You're right Jura, she is smart, and the ears and tail make her adorable," Megan smiles.

"You _DID_ set me up!" Kaze snarls.

"No, she didn't," Megan tells her. "She just told me that she had to beat you when the teams were randomized and we ended up together."

"I can't believe you would think I would cheat to win a stupid bet!" Jura snarls in outrage. "Just for that, you get to keep bringing the tail and ears to school too!"

"But! Damnit!" Kaze snarls as she turns and stalks out of the library, everyone shushing her in her wake.

"Well, that could have gone better," Megan adds dryly.

"We'll sort it out later," Jura tells her, suddenly sounding very tired. "What did you have for me this time?"

"This," Megan says as she hands over a single book.

"The Art of War?" Jura squawks in surprise. "You know I don't like to fight!"

"That's the point, lizard," Megan smirks. "As easily as you absorb things from these books I've been giving you, with this, I'm hoping that you'll learn enough that you'll be able to think your way _around_ the problems, before fighting is the last resort."

"You really think this will help?" Jura asks.

"Yes I do. Plus, it will make you more dangerous in Halo," Megan grins.

"You are terrible," Jura tells her.

"I know. Now you better go catch up with her, and make peace," Megan tells her.

"Right. Thanks again for your help," Jura agrees, taking the book and rushing after Kaze.

Chapter 2

"Are you going to talk to me? Or just sulk," Jura asks as she walks home behind Kaze, enjoying watching her tail twitch with each step.

Kaze acts as if she can't hear a word Jura says as she continues home.

"You can't keep ignoring me," Jura tells her, only to have Kaze continue the silent treatment. "Well, I guess we are actually going to get some sleep tonight, then."

Kaze simply enters the house, and slams the door in Jura's face.

"What the hell is going on with you two?" Maizy demands, after Jura opens the door.

"She thinks I set her up to lose the bet, so she's mad at me," Jura tells her.

"Well lock her down in slave mode or something until she cools off. The whole damn room shook when she slammed the door," the smaller Mazinger complains as she heads toward her own room.

"I heard that!" Kaze snarls from upstairs.

"Might want to keep your smart mouth impulses under wraps for a while, until this blow's over," Jura says, giving Maizy a pat on the shoulder as she moves past her.

"No joke," Maizy mutters.

"You are frightening your sister," Jura says as she enters their room to find Kaze had flopped face down on their bed.

"I'll apologize to her later," Kaze mutters, still refusing to look at Jura.

"Will you _please_ talk to me?" Jura asks, sitting on the bed, and putting a hand on Kaze's shoulder.

"I may love you," Kaze tells her. "But I don't like you very much just this second."

"I'll…I'll be downstairs," Jura whispers, tears running down her face. She fumbles the doorknob as she leaves.

"Well, well, well. It appears that their test subject survived whatever destroyed the lab," A woman's voice comments as several shadowy forms look over copy's of the pictures that Watcher four took.

"Yes Ma'am," One of the other shadow's agrees.

"I would like to know how the subject came to be living with the Mazingers," another adds.

"As would I," the woman agrees. "But for now, we need to spread our net a bit wider. I want surveillance teams to begin tracking the other so called "K-Girl's" and learning their habits. Of particular importance are any juvenile targets, since they will be far easier to control than the older ones."

"And if we are discovered?" the second male voice asks.

"Then I will personally take to the field, with my special unit, and remove any obstacles from our path," the woman answers. "Zoe managed to derail my plans over the course of our last encounter, but with what I've taken from her, things will be far different this time out."

"As you command," the others chorus.

Zoe enters the house just as Jura comes tearing down the stairs, and dashes toward the back of the house. The sound of the back door slamming reaches her, signaling that Jura is now out in the grounds behind the house.

"What's going on," she asks, on a private radio channel with Maizy.

"From what little I know," Maizy replies, "a misunderstanding that led to a _major_ blow up."

"Jura just ran out the back, in tears," Zoe tells her.

"And Kaze was mad enough when they got home that she slammed the door in her face, with enough force to shake half the house," Maizy adds.

Zoe sighs as she takes her things up to her room. "Which one do you want?" she asks, making it clear that the two of them are going to have to help fix this.

With a sigh, Maizy replies, "I'll take the lizard. Being friends with Zuki gives me a couple of aces that I can use."

"How's that?" Zoe asks, as she heads toward Kaze and Jura's room.

"Both of them where raised in a lab, and experimented on until they escaped. While Zuki is terminally happy and cheerful, I can't help but think that if she had stayed in their care as long as Jura had she would be in the same shape," Maizy answers, as she opens up her bedroom window, and drops to the ground with a thud.

"Alright, then I'll take the cat," Zoe tells her, before adding, "Leave a channel open between us, so that we can keep tabs on how things are going."

"You got it," Maizy says as she begins her search for Jura.

"Kaze? Mind if I come in?" Zoe calls as she knocks on the door.

"You're not going to leave if I say "no", will you?" Kaze asks through the door.

"Nope," Zoe answers with a small smile.

"Then you may as well come in," Kaze answers.

"Would you like to talk about what happened?" Zoe asks, moving over to lean against the wall while Kaze stays on her bed.

"Jura? I know you're out here," Maizy calls, making her way across the grounds, checking near all the biggest trees, and anything else that could give the Godzilla girl a hiding place.

She finally finds her, curled up into a ball of misery, her knees hugged to her chest, and her tail wrapped around her.

"Jura?" Want to talk about it?" Maizy asks, her voice so gentle that most who know her wouldn't believe it.

"Go away," Jura hiccups, her face buried against her knees.

"Sorry, not going to happen," Maizy returns, gently smoothing some of Jura's hair back from her face as she sits next to the bigger girl.

"And I can't make you go either," Jura says, with a sobbing laugh.

"Tell me what happened," Maizy gently orders.

Tears still flowing, Jura tells the little cyber girl everything that went on with the both of them today, up to and including Kaze's final comment.

"You ready to listen to me? Or do you have more crying to do first?" Maizy asks her.

"Why?" Jura sniffs.

"Because I think I can help you understand why Kaze went off like she did," Maizy tells her.

"And because you thought she had cheated in an online game, one where I'm pretty sure cheating is damn near impossible, you thought it was okay to break her heart like that?" Zoe asks, shocked at what brought this all out.

"I didn't break her heart. I just needed her to be away from me for a while," Kaze returns in a sulky voice.

"Hello? Are your chips fried?" Zoe asks, knocking Kaze on top of the head. "You are the main source of stability in that girls' life! She is in love with your shiny silver ass, and doesn't care who knows it! When she passed me downstairs, her face was covered in tears. Now how do you suppose that happened?" Zoe demands.

Zoe's blunt revelations clear some of the anger haze from Kaze's mind, bringing her face up to stare wide eyed at Zoe.

"And the light finally comes on," Zoe mutters shaking her head.

"What have I done?" Kaze whispers.

When Kaze makes to get up, Zoe puts a hand on her shoulder and pushes her back down on the bed. "Hold it!

"But I have to fix this!" Kaze blurts out.

"First you need to shut the hell up and listen for a while," Zoe tells her, her eyes flashing.

"I didn't think about that," Jura admits. "When she called me a cheat, I just wanted to get even, and taking back my earlier promise was the first thing that I thought of."

"And breaking your word was the final straw, given how much Kaze disliked going out in public as a catgirl," Maizy agrees.

"I never meant to hurt her! How can I make this up to her?...I'm so confused…." Jura finally admits.

"Welcome to the real world," Maizy tells her with a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Jura can't help but make a small laugh at that. "It was definitely simpler to be a prisoner," Jura admits.

"You say something like that again, and I'm going to hit you," Maizy tells her, her voice suddenly very cold. "Hard."

"I didn't say I wanted to go back to it," Jura reminds her.

"That's good. It makes it less likely that I'll have to beat some sense into you," Maizy smirks, getting a small smile out of Jura in return.

"You got your head screwed on right now?" Zoe asks.

"Yeah, I think so," Kaze answers her. "Thanks mom."

Zoe is so shocked at that, that she shuts down her comlink. "What did you just call me?" she asks, her voice shaky.

"Mom. Is it really that big a surprise? Maizy thinks about you the same way, although I'm sure she would see me slagged before admitting it," Kaze tells her.

"But I'm not…I can't be…." Zoe says, sinking down to sit next to Kaze on the bed.

"The professor built all of us, even if Maizy finished the Job on me, but without you, and the program that you dumped into us, neither Maizy or me would be who we are. We would just be robots, not _people_. He may have built us, but _you,_ you brought us to life. Last time I checked, a good definition of Mother was "one who gives life". Add in the fact that you are the one who keeps the house operating, not to mention keeps the peace between us all….yeah, you're the Mom," Kaze unloads on her.

"I had no idea…." Zoe mutters in shock.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll stick with the sister thing," Kaze smiles.

"Thank you. It's a lot easier to deal with. I know how to be the most experienced sister, but being a Mom…I don't think I'll ever be ready for anyone to think about me that way," Zoe admits, still shook.

"Your call sis," Kaze tells her, her smile getting wider as Zoe recovers from her shock.

"Go tell her what you need to," Zoe orders, feeling like she's done a better job with her sisters than she ever could have hoped.

"You ready to deal with this now?" Maizy asks.

"I….I think so," Jura answers her, before pulling the smaller girl into a hug. "Thank you. I know that you didn't have to step in like that."

"Hey, I live here too you know," Maizy smirks back at her. "I'd be a fool if I didn't want you two to make up as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Jura tells her again, releasing her, and letting her hair fall forward over her face.

"Heads up," Maizy tells her, before taking two steps and lifting into the air to fly back to the house.

"What?" Jura asks, shaking the hair out of her eyes.

The sight of Kaze crouching over her takes her breath away.

After staring at each other for a few moments, they both say, "I want to apologize."

"Mission accomplished?" Zoe asks as Maizy re-enters the house.

"You had a doubt?" Maizy smirks.

"With the both of us on the job? Not really," Zoe smiles.

Chapter 3

"What's going on? Where am I?" Jura wonders, as she looks around the utter blackness surrounding her.

"This is the Realm of Dream, child," A kind female voice echo's out of the darkness.

"Why can't I see anything?" Jura demands as she spins around and looks in every direction.

"Because child, you need to give a form to your surroundings. Until you do that, you will continue to float in the void," the voice answers her.

"How do I do that?" Jura asks, becoming more confidant thanks to the voices kind tone.

"Imagine a place that you want this realm to resemble, and it will," the voice tells her, sounding as if she's is coming closer to Jura with each response.

"Like this?" Jura asks, closing her eyes, and imagining the school commons.

"Exactly," the voice answers.

When Jura opens her eyes, she is standing in the center of the commons, or at least appears to be. Looking around, she asks, "How come I still can't see you?"

"Because I have just now managed to find you through the void," the voice answers directly behind her.

Spinning around, Jura is startled by the sight of her visitor. Clad in a brightly colored kimono, the woman is slightly shorter than Jura. A shawl is draped over her head, hiding her face in shadows, while she steps closer to Jura on bare feet.

"Your kimono seems familiar, but I can't place where I've seen the pattern before," Jura says, her brow wrinkling slightly as she racks her brain.

"All will become clear later," the woman says, her gentle tone never wavering.

"Why are we here?" Jura finally asks.

"Because I have come to warn you," the woman answers.

"Warn me about what?" Jura demands, suddenly feeling worried.

"About this, and more," she says as she wraps a gentle arm around Jura's shoulder, and guides her to look at a certain point.

"_NO!_" Jura screams as she sees the sights her guide has to show her.

Maizy, laying non-functional, most of her body destroyed.

Kaze, buried under a pile of rubble, only a arm, and mangled wing visible.

Zoe, laying face down in a water filled crater.

A shadowy female form, armed with a large shield, standing threateningly over Maizy's friends.

More shadows, one who seems like a bulkier version of Kiryuu, and another with wings hanging off of her arms, and several more that remind her of Zoe.

"These are just some of the things that your future holds for you," the woman tells her, sympathy filling her voice at Jura's reaction.

"No! This can't happen!" Jura tells her, pulling free of her grip.

"Unfortunately, this, and more, is in store for you, and those you care for," she answers sadly.

"No!" Jura weeps, dropping to her knees.

"You have the power to prevent most of it from occurring," she says. "That is the point of showing you these horrors."

"What do I have to do?" Jura asks, still shook from what she's been shown.

"Choose," the woman answers simply.

"What?" Jura demands in confusion.

"You will have choices to make as the time of these events comes closer. Much the same way that a sword can defend or attack, your choices will have power. Whether they are for the best, or are purely selfish, they will affect how these images come to pass, _if_ they do," the woman tells her.

"And if I blow it?" Jura asks, sure she doesn't really want to know.

With a sigh, the woman once again turns Jura to face the future.

Scenes of war, humanity's death, and the enslavement of the newborn Kaiju-morph race are what await her.

"_NOOOO!"_ Jura shrieks as she jerks awake, then breaks down into tears again.

"Jura, what's wrong?" Kaze demands, turning on a light as she sits up and pulls Jura closer to her.

"A dream. A horrible, horrible dream," Jura gasps, hugging Kaze for all she's worth.

"You know dreams aren't real now, right?" Kaze asks, petting Jura's hair.

"This one was different from that last one you helped me with," Jura tells her, her breathing still a little ragged.

"Tell me about it," Kaze tells her, helping her sit up, and lean against the headboard of the bed.

Jura proceeds to share the entire dream with Kaze. "And that was when I woke up," she finishes.

"Damn. No wonder you freaked out," Kaze mutters in sympathy. "But still, it was nothing but a dream."

"What's that then?" Jura asks as a glowing moth, the size of a baseball slowly fans its wings on the footboard of their bed.

"Jeez, where's the bug spray?" Kaze mutters, as she looks around for something within reach to throw at it.

"Don't you dare," Jura tells her, as she holds a hand palm up out to the moth.

Gliding forward, the moth lands in Jura's hand. Immediately after, it turns into a swirl of energy.

"Much like a sword, power is nether good or bad. It is all about the choices in how they are used. Take this, as a reminder," the woman's voice echo's through their room. When the energy swirl dissipates, there is a small crystal amulet in the shape of a sword in Jura's hand.

"That…..shouldn't be possible," Kaze whispers, awe struck by what just happened.

"That's why the patterns on her kimono where familiar," Jura realizes. "It's like she had wrapped herself in her wings."

"What do you mean?" Kaze asks.

"I know who the woman was," Jura tells her, wide eyed by her realization.

"Who?" Kaze asks.

"We need to go talk to the Mothras in the morning," Jura tells her.

Chapter 4

"Morning," Jura yawns as she enters the kitchen.

"Where's Kaze?" Maizy asks, wanting to make sure that they are not fighting again.

"Right here, squirt," Kaze growls, pushing through the door behind Jura.

"You two look like hell," Zoe tells them.

"It was a rough night," Jura tells her.

"Wild sex?" Maizy asks, with a raised eyebrow.

"Nightmare," Kaze tells them, shaking her head at Maizy.

"Well that's no fun," Maizy mutters, disappointed that she won't have anything to add to her site.

"Are you planning to hang out with your friends today?" Jura asks her.

"Nah. Since it's supposed to be such a nice day, it seems like all their families have decided to go to the beach for the day," she answers.

Jura and Kaze look at each other, before turning to Zoe with a questioning look.

"That doesn't sound like a half bad idea," Zoe admits. "All those in favor of a trip to the beach, raise your hand," she says, being the first to raise hers.

"We're in," Kaze adds, as she raises her hand.

"But we are going to have to swing through town first, and stop at Darcy's. I don't have a swimsuit," Jura says, raising her hand as well.

"Crap. Neither do I," Kaze adds.

"It's unanimous. And just wait here a sec, I've got something for all of you," Maizy tells them, as she dashes out of the room.

Moments later, Maizy returns, with three small packages.

"This one's yours," she says, handing Jura the one with the silver bow. "And this one is for you," she continues, handing one with a black ribbon to Kaze. "And last but not least, yours," she finishes, handing Zoe the last one, with a crimson bow.

"What are these, and where did you get the money for them?" Zoe asks.

"One, open them and find out, and two, none of your business," Maizy smirks.

"What is this?" Jura asks, pulling out what looks like a pile of fine silver chain.

"Your new swimsuits. My sisters are some of the hottest women on the planet, and I'll be damned if you're not going to look the part," Maizy tells them.

"I'm one of your sisters?" Jura asks, confused.

"Yeah, by marriage," Maizy shoots back with a smirk.

"Come on, let's go see how they look," Zoe orders, barely able to keep from laughing.

"I'm not sure I like this thing," Jura mutters as she checks herself over in front of the mirror in her and Kaze's room. "This is the first time I've had a thong on, and it feels weird," she complains. "What do you think?" she asks Kaze.

"Uh….what was that? I wasn't paying attention," Kaze returns, her eyes glued to Jura's body, where the silver highlights her breasts, and …lower.

"Kaze! You're….wow," Jura says, turning around and getting her first good look at Kaze. While the suit designs are nearly identical, the black colorization of Kaze's works as well with her silver skin as Jura's does with her darker colors.

"So I take it that you two like how the suits look?" Zoe asks, posing in the doorway, her crimson suit looking just as good as Kaze's.

"Um, yeah," they both reply, going back to staring at each other.

"Throw something over top of them, and let's go. Maizy is going to skin us all if we take much longer," Zoe tells them, laughing as she returns to her room to do the same.

"Where did you get these suits, anyway?" Zoe asks Maizy as the group flies toward the beach, Jura being carried by Kaze.

"Where do you think?" Maizy shoots back. "Darcy made them. I found some clips online from a game, and showed them to her. She said that if she had the dimensions of the girls that it shouldn't be too difficult, just time consuming."

"So how did you get my measurements? Darcy's never measured me up for anything," Zoe asks.

"I swiped a download of one of your old maintenance readouts. Since your sizes never change, and even Darcy could tell that it wasn't faked, she ran with those," Maizy explains. Then she laughs and adds, " 'Course, she also complained that it was a shame that the rest of the girls in this town couldn't just give her that kind of info to work from."

"I bet," Zoe answers with a grin.

"There's the beach!" Jura says into the com headset that they had built for her to use.

"Spot any other K-Girls down there yet?" Maizy asks, turning her attention to the beach.

"A pink and purple blob with wings and blond hair. Must be Dizzy," Zoe reports, pointing.

"Then it's a good bet that Ebi is down there too. Dizzy would never come to the beach without bringing her," Jura adds.

"I've got a big spot of color over here," Kaze calls. "Yup, I've found the Mothras."

"Is there room near them for us?" Zoe asks, banking over for a look herself.

"Yes, the regular people seem to be giving the K's a wide berth," Jura adds.

"Then let's say hello," Maizy grins, dropping like a stone, and buzzing right over the top of their beach umbrella's.

"Maizy!" Zoe yells, landing at a respectful distance.

"I was just saying hello," she grumbles as she lands next to Zoe, and drops the bag of towels and beach toys she was in charge of.

"I give up," Zoe mutters as she shakes her head. Laying down the two umbrellas and the chair backs she has. (the chair backs are just something that you spike into the sand and they act like the back of a lawn chair while you sit on your towel.)

"Some days I wonder about you sis," Kaze says as she sets Jura on her feet, and taps her chocker, changing from her armor to the cut offs and tank top she has on over her suit.

"This, from the cyber Amazon," Maizy smirks, tapping her own choker and changing from her uniform to the shorts and t-shirt she has on over her own swimsuit.

"Behave, both of you," Jura tells them, setting the cooler down, and collecting the towels and umbrellas to set them up.

"Maizy!" Immomu yells as she runs toward her friend.

"What's up worm?" Maizy calls back with a big smile.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Immomu yells as she tackles Maizy.

"Simmer down kid," Armorra says, plucking Immomu off of Maizy. "And for the record, that wasn't very funny," she adds to Maizy.

"I'm sorry," Maizy mumbles, shocked at how badly her little joke backfired on her.

"Apology accepted," Mina tells her, as she and Meo join the others. "So what brings all of you out here today?"

"Well, someone mentioned that half of the school was going to be hitting the beach to enjoy this great weather, so we thought we'd get in on the act," Zoe says.

"Welcome to our little part of it," Meo grins, sweeping an arm around them at the open space between them and the nearest other group. "It appears as though the regular people don't want to get too close to us, unless they have to."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Zoe grins. "Enjoy the space while you can, 'cause my money says that by about two o'clock or so this place is going to be packed."

"You're probably right about that," Meo agrees with a smile.

"Well, our stuff is set up!" Jura calls as she moves toward the group, the Mazinger parties gear all laid out behind her. "And now, I'm going for a swim!" she grins, pulling her t-shirt over her head, and kicking out of her safari shorts, before dashing for the water, and vanishing.

All the Mothras blush as they get their first look at Jura's suit…What there is of it.

"That's…" Meo begins, at a loss for words.

"Quite a daring suit," Mina fills in for her.

"Damn," is all Armorra can add, comparing her and her sisters more conventional swimsuits to the one the Godzilla girl has on.

"Actually, you can blame Maizy for our suits," Kaze grins, as she and Zoe strip out of their shorts and shirts as well.

"At least you have the builds to pull them off," Armorra says, shaking her head.

"True, not everyone would be able to wear such an outfit, and maintain their dignity in the process," Meo agrees.

"Well, I just plan to enjoy soaking in the sun for a while," Zoe says, pulling out a pair of cheap sunglasses. "I love not having to worry about getting sunburned," she adds with a grin as she heads toward their stuff.

"Well, I'm going after Jura, and later on, we would like to talk privately with you three," Kaze says to the moth girls.

"Why?" Mina asks.

"Something happened last night that has Jura more than a little freaked out, and she's hoping that you might be able to shed a little more light on it for her," Kaze cryptically answers.

"Why us?" Meo asks, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Who else on this island is more connected to Mothra than the lot of you?" Kaze tosses back over her shoulder, before dashing at the water and diving in.

"This should prove to be a most interesting conversation," Meo says, her sisters nodding in agreement.

"I can't believe I can breathe underwater!" Jura gushes as she and Kaze emerge from the surf.

"You damn near gave me a heart attack," Kaze tells her. "And I don't even have one!"

"Well, not a physical one anyway," Jura says with a sly grin. "But I don't have gills, so how can I _do_ that?" she asks, going back to the previous topic.

"We think that it's somehow related to how quickly our bodies can regenerate damage," Gina tells her.

"Huh? Gina? But when did," Jura sputters as she looks around. It's then that she discovers that while she and Kaze where exploring underwater, several others had arrived at their stretch of beach.

"Jura Lady! Gimme hugz!" Zuki squeals as she flies in at Jura.

"Oof! Hi kiddo," Jura gasps, as Zuki gives her one of her patented back breaking hugs.

"Hello to you too, Super Maizy!" Zuki giggles, before taking off to meet up with Maizy, Immomu, and Nuri once more.

"Wow. Looks like all the K-girls are congregating around this part of the beach," Kaze says as she looks around, spotting Mega-lass near Zoe, and Gigi helping built a fire pit with Megan and Giganna.

"Too bad we don't have a volley ball net," Gina sighs.

"Ask, and you shall receive!" Jura laughs, as she rings some of the water out of her hair.

"Hey, Titania!" Kaze calls waving to the ruby skinned blond.

"How did you know we needed a net?" Gina asks, her dark blue bikini making her skin seem to glow.

"A little spider told me," the blond answers, her white suit a stark contrast to her skin color, as two more k-girls walk up behind her.

"Crystal!" Gina nearly snarls.

"Truce. I'm just here to enjoy a day at the beach like the rest of you," the SpaceGodzilla girl says as she holds up both hands in a peacemaking gesture.

"I invited them, so everyone behave," Titania says, a subtle warning in her voice.

"It's not like you own the beach anyway," Kumi adds.

"That goes for you too, legs," the blond adds over her shoulder, catching Kumi's response of sticking her tongue out, then offering up a wide grin.

"Peace?" Gina asks, holding her hand out toward Crystal.

"For today at least," the blue saurian answers, giving it a shake.

"I'll take it," Gina grins at her sister for the first time in a very long time.

"My god, I've got enough footage already to keep the site going for a year!" Maizy grins to her "crew".

"Let's play!" Zuki cheers.

"I've got an idea," Nuri says with an evil little grin. "Gimme a second," she says, before she dashes toward Giganna.

The Gigan girl tips her head down as she listens to Nuri for a few moments, then stands up and begins searching over the K-girls assembled so far.

"Volleyball game!" she calls out, loud enough for everyone to hear her. "Lizards vs. the bugs! Now let's get that net set up!" she orders, heading toward Titania to help her get things together.

"Who's going to ref?" Armorra calls back.

"I will!" Maizy volunteers.

"Want to make some sand castles?" Immomu asks Zuki.

"Sure!" the little green lizard girl enthuses, before they grab their buckets and shovels and head closer to the waterline.

"You are a genius," Maizy whispers to Nuri as they watch the older girls set up the net.

"I know," Nuri agrees, buffing her nails on her one piece suit.

"You going to join in?" Zoe asks Jura as the three let the others set things up.

"Only if you robots are planning to take on the winners," Jura shoots back from her position on her belly, while Kaze rubs lotion onto her back.

"I think we can be persuaded to do that," Zoe grins, sliding her shades back into place as she leans back into her half chair.

"And I've got a favor to ask of you Kaze," Jura whispers.

"And what would that be?" she answers the same way.

"Um, I know you don't really like it, but would you _please_ wear this for the rest of the day?" Jura asks, reaching into her shorts pocket and pulling out Kaze's cat tail.

"Going to have to give me a better reason than please," Kaze tells her.

"How about if you get to be the mistress in the bedroom whenever you wear it for me?" Jura offers. "That way I can repay you however you want."

"Oh, I think you've just made the deal of your life there, little girl," Kaze tells her with a knowing grin. "If you make this a permanent thing, I'll even stop complaining about wearing them in public."

"Deal," Jura agrees, sitting up to give Kaze a quick kiss.

"It's a good thing these suits are tail friendly," Kaze jokes as she spins around to give her back to Jura.

"I noticed that too. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence, or on purpose. We'll have to corner Maizy and sweat the answers out of her," Zoe answers, her head leaned back and her eyes closed.

"Yeah, right. You'd have better luck getting the info from a rock we find on the beach today. Maizy doesn't give up anything she doesn't want you to know," Jura shoots back as she firmly presses the silver end of Kaze's tail to the base of her spine, and holds it there for a few moments. As she watches, Kaze's human ears melt back into the sides of her head, while up top, two neko ears poke through her red mane, until they reach their full size.

"That is still one of the weirdest feelings I've ever had," Kaze mutters, referring to the shifting.

"Maybe, but damn they make you adorable!" Jura grins, unable to stop herself from reaching up to scratch them.

"OOoooo…..You…You better stop, before we have to leave, and find someplace private to continue," Kaze tells her, her eyes rolling up in her head at how good it feels.

"Oh, alright," Jura pouts, using a face she's mimicked from some of the things she's seen on T.V.

"Oh dear god. Who in their right mind taught you to how to do that?" Zoe demands.

"Kim Possible," Jura answers with a wicked grin. "Maizy and her friends had one of the American channels on one day, and that show was on. Nuri made the comment after they saw it and how she used it that if they could master it, then they would be able to get away with anything, as far as those with a weakness for "cute" are concerned."

"Still doesn't explain how you learned it," Kaze interjects.

"They had to practice on someone. So I got to practice on them too. Guess who got it first?" she tells them with a triumphant grin.

"Heh, it's always fun to hear about one of their escapades that doesn't cause trouble, but still blows up in their face," Zoe smirks.

"Teams! Time to Play!" Giganna calls out, telling them that the net is finally ready.

"Good luck," Kaze tells Jura with a quick kiss.

"Thanks. I think I'm going to need it," Jura answers as she heads toward the growing groups.

"You're going to play aren't you?" Kumi asks.

"Wasn't really planning on it," Crystal answers, stretched out on her beach towel, barely covered by her black bikini, and enjoying it as her body soaks up the heat, and more importantly, some small traces of Cosmic Radiation.

"Oh, come on! It will be fun!" Kumi pouts.

"I'd be stuck on a team with my sister, and other people who I've either tormented, or flat out beat the snot out of. Can't see it as working out very well," Crystal returns.

"Not even with me on your team," Titania says, suddenly blocking all Crystal's sun.

"You cheat," Crystal mock growls at Kumi, while letting her eyes drink in the sight of Titania in a wet, white, swimsuit.

"Learned from the best," Kumi grins, as she grabs Crystals hand and tugs her to her feet.

"Let's go," the blond agrees. "We can show the _bugs_ how the _lizards_ play the game," she grins, then sticks her tongue out at Kumi.

"Oh, you're goin' down for that, Blondie!" Kumi taunts back.

"You're both nuts," Crystal tells them, unable to keep a smile off her face.

Meo, Mina, Armorra, Mega-lass, and Kumi, face off against Gina, Jura, Titania, Crystal, and Anji-lass on the opposite sides of the net.

"Alright, Listen Up," Maizy calls to them from her air born vantage point, over the court. "You are free to use your powers, but only on your own team, not against the others, and _NOT ON THE BALL._ Do I make myself clear?" she asks, grinning.

"What's the point of letting us use our powers then?" Crystal grumbles.

"Figure it out," Maizy smirks,, before flipping a coin and slapping it down on her wrist. "Call it!" she orders the two teams, still keeping her hand over the coin.

"Tails!" Kumi calls out before anyone can stop her.

"Judge?" Maizy calls as she hovers over to Megan, and reveals the coin.

"The bugs get the ball!" Megan calls out, as Maizy jets back to her vantage point.

Then she opens a com channel to her computer at the house, and starts a live feed of what she is about to witness.

"_This is going to make me a mint!_" she gloats to herself as she prepares to record the game.

The game rapidly becomes serious, as Crystal uses her telekinesis to help offset the fact that most of the opposing team can fly. It only takes one crater inducing spike from Crystal to convince the others that attempting to block her isn't exactly a healthy idea.

The bugs counter, by letting Mega-lass run net defense for them. Between her and Kumi, it takes serious work on the lizards part to get the ball to the ground.

After about two hours of solid standoff, the lizards hit on their winning combination. After Gina had gotten a face full of sand in her dive to prevent a point, Jura bumped the ball straight up. Crystal responded by tossing Titania up after it. The spike that resulted ended up with Kaze chasing the ball down with her flight pack after the impact. The bugs put up a valiant effort, but they just are not able to stand up to the raw power on the other side.

"And that's game!" Maizy calls out as the last point is tallied, grinning like a loon.

"We call Winner after lunch!" Zoe yells.

"You've only got two, since the little one is the ref," Giganna reminds her.

"Then what are we? Rust stains?" Katsura smirks as everyone turns to see that the other set of mecha sisters have arrived.

"Team Mech vs. Team Lizard, after lunch!" Giganna calls out.

"This is going to get messy, isn't it," Jura asks, not directing it to anyone in particular.

"Probably," Anji agrees.

"Thought so," she sighs, shaking her head as she goes over to set up her groups lunch.

"So what did you wish to speak to us about?" Meo asks, as the moth sisters come up to Kaze and Jura.

The pair share a look, before checking on the rest of their party, causing the Mothras to wonder what is really going on.

With Zoe over with Kiryuu, and Maizy off with the other juniors, Jura sighs, and says, "Have a seat. This is going to be a little hard to swallow."

After everyone is seated, Jura starts her tale, from the moment she woke up in her dream surrounded by the Void, and takes them through it, step by step.

"I agree, it was a horrible nightmare, but what makes you believe Mothra was involved?" Mina asks.

"After she woke up, and woke me up in the process, we found a moth the size of a baseball on the footboard of the bed," Kaze informs them.

And when it fluttered to my hand, it changed into this….swirl of energy, I guess you'd call it. When that faded, it left this in my hand," Jura says, showing them the crystal amulet.

"While I agree that makes it more likely…." Mina starts, only to be interrupted by Meo.

"Is this the first time you've been visited in your dreams?" the Mothra Leo asks.

"Yes. Has it ever happened to you?" Jura returns.

Meo nods, causing Mina to gasp. "You never mentioned it to us!" she says, trying very hard to keep her voice down.

"Because it was a personal message for me," Meo answers her, a small smile, taking any sting from the words. "Mothra appeared to me as a human woman, dressed in a kimono, patterned after her wings, with the most amazing blue eyes. Her hair was white, but not from age, since she was clearly a youthful beauty. Or so I thought. Anyway, she led me through several questions about why I had been so depressed at the time. Eventually I confided in her about my feelings for Des, and she told me that I should trust my instincts and look beyond outer appearances. Then she assumed her true form, and left me with the order to follow my heart."

"I always wondered how it was that you found the courage to ignore all of us and hook up with her," Armorra finally breaks the silence.

"Yes, that much is now clear," Mina agrees.

"But back to you, I believe you should take her warnings and instructions seriously," Meo tells Jura.

"Who am I to ignore a message from the Guardian of the Earth?" Jura returns with a wry smile. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't cracked up in the head or something."

"No fear of that, at least not yet," Mina smiles.

"What do you mean by that?" Kaze asks.

"From the sound of things, it's time for the second volleyball game. Anything could happen," Armorra smirks.

"If I could, I would like to examine the amulet while you are busy," Meo says.

"Sure," Jura agrees handing it over.

"I shall take good care of it," Meo assures her, as Jura and Kaze get up to join their respective teams for the game.

"One last thing," Mina calls to them as she and Meo also rise.

"What?" Kaze asks as they pair stop and turn back to the moth girls. Needless to say, Kaze is taken completely by surprise when she is tackle/glomped by the pair.

"You did say "some other time," Right?" Mina grins at Jura, as she and Meo scratch Kaze's neko ears, making the silver woman purr in pleasure.

"So I did," Jura reluctantly agrees, trying to suppress the flashes of annoyance and jealousy that spark inside of her as she watches the Mothras turn her girlfriend into a giant humanoid housecat.

"Come on you two, they have a game to play," Armorra says, causing her sisters to reluctantly leave Kaze to go to the game.

"Awe…." They chorus as they reluctantly let her go.

"Let's go," Jura says, as she tugs Kaze to her feet and leads her off. Once they are out of earshot of both groups, she adds, "And you won't have to worry about wearing the ears and tail out in public anymore."

"Why is that?" Kaze asks, surprised by the sudden turn around.

"Because I've just discovered something important about myself," Jura answers her. "I just realized, that I don't like to share what's _mine._"

"I love you too," Kaze smirks, planting a kiss on top of Jura's head as they move to opposing sides of the net for the game.

"Challengers get the first serve!" Maizy calls out, as she drops the ball into the waiting hands of Katsura. "Rules are still the same, Powers are only allowed on your side of the net, and not on the ball. Now let's see what you all got!"

Things start off with a bang, as Katsura's opening shot skims right over the top of the net, and nearly parts Gina's hair as it shoots through a hole in their defense.

"Katsura, I want to win too, but try to avoid taking anyone out, will you? This is supposed to be fun, not an excuse to start a K-fight," Zoe tells her lovers' older sister.

"If you insist," the original Mecha G girl responds as the ball is passed back to her so she can serve again.

Once again her serve is aimed to just barely clear the net, but this time it's meets a bit of additional resistance.

"Not this time!" Jura says after leaping up and smashing the ball back at Zoe's feet.

"OW!" Zoe complains, rubbing at the underside of her breasts, where the ball and bounced up and smacked her.

"Looks like the new one came to play hardball," Katsura murmurs to her sisters.

"Take it easy on her," Kiryuu orders the other two, as they get ready to receive Gina's serve. "Jura doesn't like to fight, so don't start anything with her."

"I heard she beat the tar out of Gabrielle twice, and got Cyganna, Dizzy, and even Crystal," Sumegi counters. "That's a pretty impressive list of wins for someone who doesn't like to fight."

The conversation switches to the radio band, so that they can continue without interruption as they play the game.

"The first time she beat up Gabby was an accident," Kiryuu tells them. "She was just regaining consciousness when Gabby said something that sent her into a berserker state. If she had been fully awake, I doubt it would have happened."

"And the rest?" Katsura asks, clearly not happy that the newest G-girl at the school has such poor self control.

"Bear in mind that this is third and forth hand, alright?" Kiryuu tells them. "But the rest of that stems from Gabby looking for some payback, and being willing to enlist help to pull it off. She got Dizzy and Crystal, as well as Kumi and Donna, to keep Kaze occupied, while she and Cyganna went after Jura. Apparently, those two put her through the mill, before she got mad enough to start fighting back. Gabby got tail slapped halfway across the commons, and Cyganna made the mistake of underestimating her opponent, and got short circuited for it. Dizzy and Crystal had Kaze on the defensive, after she had taken Kumi and Donna out of the fight. Then Jura hit their fight like the big G hitting a suspension bridge. First she blasted the pair into a wall, then went toe to toe with them both, while Kaze ran Donna, who she had hurt far worse than she had intended, to the nurses office. The rest is nothing but hearsay, but the story goes that Jura made a few threats, nearly chocked Dizzy to death, and managed to impress Crystal enough to get the baddest bitch in the school to leave the pair in relative peace."

"So what are the chances that she will flip out again?" Sumegi asks, as Gina power slams a shot through their defense, earning her team yet another point.

"I would say, very low," Kiryuu answers, leaping up and stuffing an incoming shot back down on the organic side of the net, nearly popping the ball on Anjji's head.

"Nice interception!" Kaze calls out, earning her a smile from Kiryuu.

"And what do we know about Zoe's larger sister?" Katsura asks.

"Aside from the fact that she's got the raw power to knock Dizzy cold in a fair fight?" Sumegi returns.

"How can you have a fair fight with Dizzy? She always calls out the swarm," Katsura scoffs.

"Well, Jura helped her with the swarm, and then she dropped Dizzy like hot slag," Kiryuu tells her.

"Impressive," Katsura concedes. "Anything else?" she asks.

"Yeah, if you hear her say "Mazin-Go", I suggest you get the hell out of her way. It seems to do other things as well, but when she says that, a face guard slides into place from her helmet, and the marks on her face light up with power," Sumegi tells them. "After she said that in her first fight with Dizzy, she pretty much took Dizzy down with just two punches."

"Damn, I didn't even know she was _that_ freaking strong," Kiryuu admits, her surprise taking her attention off the game long enough for Crystal to power a shot in at her feet.

"And that's game!" Maizy yells, slightly disappointed at the mecha teams showing. "_At least I got more footage for the site,"_ she grins to herself.

After a few more hours of enjoying the beach, some of the others slip away, either to head home, to find a quiet spot for themselves, or to get ready for further plans.

"Hey, most of us are going to hang around for a while yet and have a bonfire. Are you two going to join us?" Zoe asks, as she flops down on her towel after a swim.

"I'd like to, but I'm feeling pretty wiped out," Jura admits. "I think I'd rather go home and get some sleep."

"Darn, and I wanted to stick around," Kaze says glumly.

"I can always fly her home for you," Maizy offers.

"If she can carry me, it would be fine," Jura agrees. "There isn't any reason you should miss out on the fun just because I'm tired."

"Zuki and Gigi have already left, and Imo's taking a nap, since her sisters are planning to stay for a while yet. And I'm pretty sure Nuri and her sister are heading out soon too, so I don't really have much reason to hang out either," Maizy says. "So if you are willing, let's see if I can lift you."

Maizy ignites her flight pack, and moves to hover behind Jura as she stands up. Jura raises both hands, and Maizy gets a good grip, before attempting to lift her clear of the ground.

"No good," Maizy mutters, releasing Jura to drop back to the ground. "I was starting to red line things, and could only get her a foot or two off the ground. No way that this is going to work."

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to follow Immomu's example, and take a nap here," Jura says.

"I could ask Mega-lass if she'd be willing to help," Maizy offers. If she can take you, I know I can carry Nuri."

"No. I'll just sleep here, and go home when Kaze is ready to go," Jura tells them.

"You sure?" Kaze asks, not wanting any resentment or anything to crop up again.

"Positive," Jura smiles at her. "Now why don't you go start their fire for them, before someone who doesn't have a heat ray makes a mess."

"Girl sleeps like a rock," Kaze mutters as she and Zoe land back at the house.

"Just put her to bed and join her, I'll get everything put away," Zoe tells her.

"Thanks," Kaze says, taking Jura upstairs and undressing her. After slipping her into bed, Kaze undresses herself and joins her. "Looks just like a big baby when she's asleep," Kaze grins, before she pulls the blanket over them both and lays back. Jura rolls over and snuggles up against her, before she can fall asleep. "I love you too, pointy ears," she grins, laying a kiss on Jura's lips, and closing her eyes.

Chapter 5

"Impressive. I look forward to the time that I can bend the lot of them to my will," the Commander grins, watching surveillance footage of the K-girls beach party. "It will be most pleasurable to crush the will of this one, and this one," she adds, as Gina and Crystal appear on the screen. "Forward a copy of these to my personal terminal. I wish to review them…..in detail," she orders.

"As you command," the tech answers, already entering commands to complete her orders.

"Alright class, we have a pair of new students joining us today," Mandy addresses her homeroom class. "Kera? Sera? You can come in now," she calls, loud enough to be heard out in the hall.

Two mecha girls enter at her summons, one a blond clad in blue armor, and another with purple hair, clad in black armor.

"Great, just what the place needs, another pair of robots," Gabrielle growls under her breath.

"Zip it, or I'll set your tail on fire!" Katsura hisses behind her.

"Enough!" Mandy snarls, her eyes flashing red for an instant. Turning back to the new pair, she says, "You two can take the seats over there behind Jura and Kaze."

The new girls nod, and take their seats, while Mandy returns to her desk, and the class returns to the semi-organized chaos it normally is before the students move out to their first real class of the day.

"So what brings you two to this madhouse?" Kaze asks, as she turns halfway around to face the new girls, Jura mirroring her actions.

The twins share a look, before Sera answers, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

"At this school? Try us," Jura grins.

Kera grins, and says," A trans-dimensional worm hole opened up and let the cyborganic monster we were hunting escape into this world, so we followed it. The resulting battle destroyed the machine that created the wormhole, trapping us here. Since the Government was behind the machine that caused the problems, they offered to put us up, and enrolled us here so we could get acclimatized to this world."

Kaze and Jura look at each other for a moment, before turning back to the twins.

"We've heard stranger," they answer.

"You're joking I hope," Sera says, shock on her face.

"Try this one," Jura says, giving an abbreviated form of her own life story.

"It's a good thing their already dead, or I'd enjoy taking them out," Kera mutters.

"Agreed," her sister adds.

"I think you two are going to fit in just fine," Kaze smirks.

"Thanks….I think," Kera says with a wry smile, just as the bell rings.

"What's your first class?" Jura asks.

"English, of all things," they answer together.

"Let's go. We'll show you the way," Kaze says leading them off.

"Someone is getting lazy in the office," Kaze mutters when she gets a look at the twins' schedules.

"You're kidding….." Jura asks her, while the foursome walks toward their next class.

"I knew that we had all the same classes together," Kera says, gesturing at her sister.

"But you mean that we have all the same classes at the same times as the both of you?" Sera finishes for her.

"You got it," Kaze confirms.

"Well, at least it gives us plenty of time to become friends," Jura smiles.

"Yeah, you two will have to dazzle us with some of your powers at lunch," Kaze agrees.

The twins share a look, before Sera says, "I suppose we could show you the drones that become our battle armor."

"Drones?" Kaze asks.

"Little remote controlled vehicles," Kera adds. "The set I normally use can also combine together into a sky board."

"Sky board?" Jura asks.

"Flying surfboard type thing," Sera explains. "My sister is a bit of a show off," she adds with a little smirk.

"Ah, you're just jealous that I've got more skills than you do, and that my armor is stronger," Kera shoots back.

"You forget, little sister, that I have more power than you do, and you got the more powerful augmentation armor to make up for it, just as I got the armor with more built in weapon systems to offset the fact that you're combat skills are a bit better than mine," Sera returns, not giving an inch. "When it's all said and done, we are fairly equal in powers."

"Truce, you two. This is our next class," Kaze butts in.

"Well, I know one thing for sure," Jura giggles. "There is no way anyone can dispute that you two are sisters."

"No kidding," Kaze smiles as the twins blush.

"We'll go claim a spot, while you two get your lunches," Jura says as she and Kaze head outside, leaving the twins in the lunch line.

"Well, at least we managed to make a couple of good friends on our first day here," Kera smiles as they wait.

"Yes. It will make getting used to this place a lot easier," Sera agrees.

"DIZZY SWARM!" Musume yells as she burst through the lunchroom doors, bare seconds ahead of the horde.

"What…." Sera starts.

"The hell is going on?" Kera finishes, the both of them staring in shock as the lunchroom becomes a ghost town in the space of seconds.

First they hear the rumble of hundreds of tiny feet. Then the doors are thrown open again as the horde of pink and purple Dizzlets charge in, eating everything in sight, bowling over the twins, and hurling the both of them out through the windows overlooking the commons.

The twins pick themselves up off the ground, just in time for a part of the swarm to gather together, fusing and finally standing at her full height.

"More new people," Dizzy growls, sweeping her bangs back off of her face. "Well, I guess it's time for orientation. I'm Dizzy. I run things around here. And unless you want to get a lot worse than what just happened to you, you will do as I tell you, and otherwise just generally stay out of my way."

"_She_ runs things around here?" Crystal mutters darkly, plotting to put the blond in her place later.

"Seems like someone is more than a little full of herself, doesn't it?" Sera asks her sister.

"You said it. I wonder if she has the juice to back up that ego?" Kera agrees.

"See for yourself," Dizzy returns, before a blast of micro oxygen blows up the ground in front of the twins.

"Powerful," Sera admits, double checking the power of the blast.

"Yeah but her aim sucks," Kera smirks.

"True. Shall we show her?" Sera returns.

"You two? Show me? Please," Dizzy snorts, her swarm chittering and giggling behind her.

Both girls bring their hands up to their foreheads, fingers resting next to the gems in their headbands. As one they call out, "Graviton ARC!"

The resulting purple energy blasts catch Dizzy in the chest, and blast her back into the lunch room.

"Should we help them?" Jura asks, wanting to go back up her new friends.

"Not yet. So far they just evened things up with Dizzy. Dizzy doesn't know that there are our friends yet, so let's give them a chance to stand on their own, before we go throwing our weight around," Kaze tells her.

"I don't like leaving them to face the swarm on their own," Jura tells her.

As if summoned by her words, the swarm erupts from the lunchroom like a tidal wave, rolling over the twins before they can react to the threat.

"Let's see how you like the beating you're about to get," Dizzy sneers, finally re-emerging from the lunchroom.

From within the swarm, the twins' voices ring out.

"Elgo Flame!" Kera calls, a globe of green energy forming around her, forcing the swarm back, before lifting her into the air.

"Elgo Formation!" Sera calls, a globe of dark purple/black enveloping her, and lifting her up near her sister.

"Well, that's a new one," Kaze says, her sensors un-able to make heads or tails of the energy reading she's getting.

"What are those?" Jura asks, pointing at several flying specks that are making a beeline for the energy globes encasing the twins.

"Look like model jets," Kaze says, before they dive into the energy globes, and are lost from sight.

The globes hang in the air for a moment, causing even Dizzy to wonder what's going on, when they suddenly explode, the shockwaves forcing the swarm back.

The much transformed twins then land, and square off against a slack jawed Dizzy.

"Flame Empress, Sol Gravion!" Kera says, as her shoulder cannons drop into position, aimed at Dizzy.

"Goddess Sigma Gravion!" Sera adds, bringing her hands up and clasping them, her forearm cannons centered on Dizzy's chest.

Dizzy throws up her hands as she turns away, ranting, "That's it! I've HAD IT! Who the hell keeps giving these new kids these insane powers and transformations! One of them claims she's a freaking goddess now!"

She keeps going in this vein for a while, storming back into the school, until Ebi finally manages to calm her down.

"That was impressive," Jura says as she and Kaze come up behind the twins.

"Heh, yeah," Kaze snickers. "I think you've managed to give the most active bully in the school an inferiority complex."

"Is this normal?" Sera asks, gesturing toward the damage.

"Yes and no," Jura answers, smiling.

"Again? This time with the help files on?" Kera asks, her cannons raising back to their stand-by position.

"The daily damage is normal, but Dizzy backing down, rather than the fight lasting until one side or the other is hammered into the ground is rather different," Kaze grins.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" they ask each other, causing Kaze and Jura to burst into laughter.

"What? Why am I just _now_ finding out that the government attempted to recreate the Dimension Tide?" the Commander demands, her voice dropping into a silky purr.

"The experiment blew up in their faces, and our spy onsite was one of the casualties," the messenger answers, gulping audibly as he stands at attention in the Commanders quarters.

In more ways than one, since there is a pile of body's in the commanders bed, and like herself, they are all female, and lack pretty much anything resembling clothes, other than a few pieces of cloth or leather that do more to draw attention to the body than they do to cover it.

"Why didn't he report sooner that they where even _considering _resurrecting that project?" she demands.

"Unknown at this time, ma'am," the messenger answers.

The commander growls under her breath for a moment, before snarling a single name. "Cyra?"

"Yes Mistress?" a golden draconic form asks as it extracts itself from the pile on the bed. "What would you have of me?"

"Take this fool, and find out every detail you can about what has been going on with this matter, then report back to me," the Commander orders. "Oh, and be sure to maintain a low profile. I don't want your inquiry to tip our hand about project "K". Clear?"

"Cryssssstal," the golden dragon answers, drawing out the word just so she can make the messenger fidget uncomfortably.

"Then get to it. I will reward you….personally…later. Since I know how much you dislike to share," the Commander adds with an evil little grin.

"Yes Mistress," she answers. Grabbing the messenger by the collar of his uniform, and lifting, she stiff arms him out the door, his boots unable to touch the floor.

"Now, where were we?" the Commander grins, rejoining the others on her bed.

"So what do you guys do for fun in this town?" Kera asks, as she and her sister walk through town with Kaze and Jura.

"Well, there is Queen Ghidi's, if you want to dance and stuff, a couple of karaoke places, an arcade," Kaze rattles off.

"There is also a very nice park, if you just want to go some place quiet and enjoy yourself for a while," Jura adds.

"And if you have someone special, you can just find some place with some privacy, and screw their brains out," Kaze grins, which gets wider as Jura's cheeks burn.

"Are you two….." Sera trails off, unable to come up with a way to ask the question without seeming rude.

"Lovers? You bet your shiny silver asses we are," Kaze answers, draping an arm over Jura's shoulders, and pulling her close.

"Behave yourself," Jura says, giving her arm a swat, but unable to keep the smile off her face in reaction to Kaze's words.

"You know, normally I'd have at least a dozen questions for you after an answer like that," Kera tells them, a smirk on her face. "But for the life of me, I can't think of any I'm actually willing to ask you two."

"Good. You may learn tact yet," Sera says with a long suffering sigh.

Kera responds by sticking her tongue out at her sister, while Kaze and Jura snicker at her.

"Well, as much fun as this is, I need to get to work," Kaze tells them all.

"What do you do?" Sera asks.

"She's the best delivery girl Shirow's Pizza has ever had," Jura tells them.

"How's that?" Kera asks. "There must have been others who are just as good."

"How many others do you think can deliver anywhere in town in under twenty minutes?" Kaze shoots back. "With me, Shirow's never has to make good on their "Delivered within a half hour, or it's free" guarantee."

"You're too big to be able to move that fast," Kera scoffs.

"Maybe you should show them the _real_ MazinKaze," Jura tells her with a warm smile.

"I think I will," Kaze agrees, tapping her choker.

In an instant, her School uniform is replaced with her battle armor, the raised sides and central spike on her helmet making her appear even taller.

"Whoa," Kera says, taking a step back from the suddenly _very_ imposing Kaze.

"How are you able to do that? We need to call the drones and say the activation phrases in order to transform from our regular armor to our battle forms," Sera asks. "You went from not having _any_ armor at all, to full combat readiness in less than a second!"

"She's just that good," Jura grins.

"Tell you what. This weekend, I'll share that little secret with you two," Kaze tells them with an impish grin. "But for now, I've got to fly. See you at the house!" she says to Jura, before igniting her flight pack, and boosting into the air.

"Damn….She's pretty fast," Kera mutters, her internal scanners registering Kaze's speed until she is out of their line of sight.

"Jealous?" Sera grins, giving her sister a nudge.

"Nah. She might be fast, but the Gradius is still a much cooler way to get around," Kera shoots back.

"Well, I'm going to head for home," Jura tells the twins. "We'll catch up with you both back at school tomorrow."

"We wouldn't miss it," Sera assures her, before the twins go their separate way, leaving Jura to wander home by herself.

"I wonder how long it will take them to find someone?" Jura mutters to herself as she walks toward the mansion.

"God, I don't know which one of them I'd like to have more," Kera mutters as she and her sister continue to explore the city.

"Behave yourself," Sera orders her. "I would like nothing more than to have some quiet time to get to know Jura better, but we are not going to do _anything_ that could ruin our new friendship with those two."

"I know, and I even agree," Kera tells her. "But just think about it for a minute…What could she do with that tail?"

"I have," Sera answers with a wicked grin, before walking off.

"Hey!" Kera yells at her, rushing to catch up.

Chapter 6

"Mistress, I have come to give you my report," Cyra announces, after knocking on the commanders door.

"Enter," is the muffled reply.

"Mistress, I UMPH!" Cyra is interrupted as she stumbles and a gob of something sticky muzzles her.

Cyra's eyes glow brighter in rage as she spins around, only to take a shot to the gut that knocks her backward.

"I'm disappointed in you Cyra," The commanders voice tells her, but it comes from someone who's silhouette looks much like Kumi's.

"That's enough Spyra," the Commander orders from the doorway.

"As you command," Spyra answers, her voice returning to its normal silky purr.

"Out." The commander orders, her eyes locked on Cyra, where she hangs entangled in Spyra's web.

"MMPH!" Cyra tries to speak.

"I _am_ disappointed in you though. My most capable lieutenant should be prepared for anything, even in the secure confines of our bases," the commander tells her, her voice going from stern to seductive. "I suppose I'll simply have to punish you for this failure of alertness, while we wait for the webbing to break down so you can give me your report."

Cyra closes her eyes, and lowers her head as much as she can in shame. She holds completely still as the Commander removes what armor can be removed from her body.

"I really should have made sure that those fools had done a better job of incorporating the technology into your poor body," the commander mutters as she fondles Cyra's revealed breasts, causing the trapped cyborg to moan in pleasure, despite being muzzled.

"Don't you have anything else to say for yourself?" the commander demands, as she continues to make Cyra writhe in her bondage.

Unable to speak in her own defense, the draconic cyborg uses her tail to speak for her, as she uses it to pleasure her mistress.

"Oooh, much better my pet. Much better," the commander chuckles, enjoying the sensations that Cyra is able to give her with her actions.

The next day proves completely uneventful for the new friends.

That is until their last period science class with Milenna.

"Alright class, how many planets exist in this solar system?" Milenna asks from her post at the front of the classroom.

"Nine. Everyone knows that," Giganna says, not bothering to raise her hand.

"Wrong," Milenna says, before waiting for another to answer.

Megan raises her hand.

"Anyone besides Megan? I already know that she does her homework," she comments dryly.

Jura finally raises her hand.

"Yes Jura?" Milenna acknowledges her.

"Since they downgraded Pluto to being a moon, there are only Eight known planets in our solar system," She answers.

"Nice save," Milenna says with a small smile. "But yes, that is accurate, at least as far as the rest of the world knows, there are only eight planets in this system."

"Why did they suddenly change that anyway?" one of the human students asks.

"I really have no idea why they suddenly felt the need to redefine the parameters of what is a "planet" as what is not," Milenna answers, looking down at her notes. When she looks back up, the swirling purple nimbus of energy that has replaced the rear wall of the room causes her to blurt out, "What the bloody hell is that?"

As the class turns to look, a body is ejected from the vortex, slamming into the center rows of the students, knocking several to the floor as his momentum is spent before slamming up against Milenna's desk.

"I really wish these things would just set us down gently, instead of ejecting us all the time," the man mutters, rubbing at where he had hit his head.

"Oh shiiiiit!" a female voice screams as her body is ejected from the purple swirl of energy, just before it vanishes.

"OOF!" The man grunts, as she slams into him.

"Why can't these damn portals just let us walk out of them like we walk into them?" she demands, rolling off of the man.

"Leona, if I had an answer for that, I wouldn't have to play landing pad for you all the time," the man wheezes, trying to get his breath back.

"What the fuck was that?" one of the other human students yells, causing the pair to look up and see the class for the first time.

"JEZ-us! What kind of world did we get dumped into this time?" the red headed woman snarls as she leaps to her feat and draws a sword.

"Stay back, I don't want to have to hurt any of you," the man orders, assuming a martial arts stance as he and the woman go back to back.

"You, hurt _us_?" Giganna says in shock. "Dude, what the fuck have you been smoking?"

"Enough! All of you, settle down!" Milenna snarls from the front of the room.

The door to the class is thrown open as several more K's burst in to see what all the commotion is about.

"What is this, monster high or something?" the man asks, trying to keep track of all the possible threats at once.

"Save it for later Cole, after we get out of this mess," Leona tells him, bringing her sword up and preparing to fight.

"Stop!" Jura yells, rushing forward and standing in front of the rest of the class, her arms outstretched.

"Jura!" Kaze and the twins calls, rushing up behind her and making ready to defend her if needed, Kaze's armor appearing as she moves.

"Everyone, just calm down!" Jura tells everyone.

"Where are we?" Cole asks, not relaxing in the least, but at least willing to talk rather than fight.

"Neo Monster Island," Milenna tells them.

"And just where the hell is that?" Leona demands.

"Near Japan," Kaze adds.

"Okay, _that _is finally something that I recognize," Cole says, lowering his hands slightly. "Now, why are the humans, demi-humans, and robots all together like this? And where on this Monster Island are we exactly?"

"The answer to both of those questions is the same," Mandy says, having finally made her way through the crush at the door to step in front of the newly arrived pair. "You are currently standing in Milenna's science class, at Daikaiju High School."

"Ease up Leona," Cole tells his partner. "I don't want to have to beat up a bunch of kids if we can help it."

"How can we be sure that they won't jump us?" Leona demands.

"Because if we had wanted to, we would have blown you through the wall," Giganna smirks, the glow she was building behind her red visor like sunglasses fading away as she stops charging her energy blast.

"Try it, and you'll find I shoot back," Leona counters, pointing a hand at her that is suddenly glowing with power.

"I said, calm down!" Cole snarls, slapping her hand down as he turns on her. "If you have someplace private we can talk, it would be a big help toward keeping things from blowing up on us," he adds over his shoulder to the teachers.

"My office is this way," Mandy says, glaring over her shoulder until the door and hall clear out.

"You are all dismissed. I need to join this meeting," Milenna adds to the class as she follows the other three out.

"Never a dull moment around here," Megan says.

"That was a new one, even for this place," another of the human students smirks.

"Don't you ever do something like that again!" Kaze snarls at Jura when she suddenly goes limp and falls back into her arms.

"Is she alright?" Kera asks.

"Looks like the adrenalin rush left her a little light headed is all," Sera responds, running a medical scan on her.

"I had to," Jura tells Kaze. "I'm the only one is this class with a healing factor."

"Which wouldn't have done you a damn bit of good if the hellion with the sword had cut your damn head off," Kaze tells her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"…I hadn't thought about that possibility," Jura says in a sheepish voice, causing the rest of the class that hadn't left behind the teacher to burst into laughter.

"If she's going to play hero like that, she needs a better costume than the school uniform," Kera grins.

"We all need better costumes than the school uniforms," Sera counters. "These things are stupid looking. I hate sailor suits."

"Let's go. After this, I think we need to introduce you two to the best seamstress in town," Jura says, slowly pushing out of Kaze's arms and back to her feet.

"Don't scare me like that again," Kaze whispers in her ear, as she swaps her armor for her uniform again.

"Choices," Jura tells her, the single word a grim reminder of things.

"Hey Darcy! We have a couple of new victims for you!" Kaze calls as they foursome enter the shop.

"I do hope she's joking," Sera says, shooting a nasty look at Kaze's back.

"Darcy is the owner, and the main source of K-girl apparel. Without her, those of us that can't exactly wear normal human clothes would be stuck wearing something like a toga," Jura tells them.

"There's a nice visual," Kera grins, as she pictures Jura in a toga.

"Not while I'm still able to make clothes," Darcy says, appearing from the racks behind the girls, and making Kera and Sera both jump.

"And she manages to scare another pair," Kaze smirks.

"Well, now we know what she meant by victims," Kera smirks.

"Yes," Sera agrees, shooting an annoyed glance at both Kaze and Jura.

"Clothes for the new girls I take it?" Darcy asks, giving the twins a slow walk around, and getting rough estimates by eye."

"Well that IS the main reason people come to see you," Kaze returns.

"True," Darcy grins, before turning to the twins. "Alright you two let's get to the changing rooms, so I can get you measured up."

"We are identical twin robots," Sera tells her. "Can't you get by with just one of us?"

"No. Now march," Darcy answers, pointing toward the back of the store.

Kera laughs, while Sera shoots a glance over her shoulder that clearly says she blames them for everything she's about to endure.

"I still don't understand why I had to take off all my clothes and armor," Sera mutters, her face still burning in embarrassment.

"Just let it go," Kera tells her, as the foursome continue toward the mansion.

"Darcy does that to everyone," Jura tells her.

"Yeah, she says it's the only way to ensure that we don't give her any B.S. like "adjusting" our measurements," Kaze adds.

"She did it to the both of you as well?" Sera asks.

"Yup," Kaze nods.

"Darcy's is where Kaze and I met for the first time," Jura says blushing in memory.

"Yeah, because someone was too sheltered and innocent at the time to know that she was supposed to go into another fitting room," Kaze grins, causing Jura's blush to increase in intensity until it burns as red as Sera's.

"Wait. You mean to tell me that the first time you saw each other…" Kera says, grinning.

"I was nekkid as a newborn," Kaze answers. "Of course, she soon evened that score up."

"You got her to strip for you?" Kera says in awe.

"Not quite," Jura admits. "I was there to be measured, just like what you two got today. Unfortunately I wasn't really used to wearing clothes, and needed her help to get undressed."

"Wait a minute. Why wouldn't you be used to wearing clothes?" Sera breaks in.

"Who dresses their science projects in pretty clothes?" Jura returns in a bitter voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot what you've been through!" Sera apologizes. "You act so normal, I have a hard time putting the current you and your past together."

"I have my new family to thank for that," Jura returns, beaming at Kaze.

"Think the others will be home?" Kaze asks.

"I don't know. I didn't ask them what their plans where for today before we left," Jura answers.

A loud crash, followed by a squeal of glee answers at least part of Kaze's question.

"Sounds like Maizy is home at least. And Zuki is with her," Jura says, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Who are they?" Kera asks.

"Well, Maizy is my little sister, but only in terms of size," Kaze says.

"She is actually the prototype that Zoe and Kaze are based on," Jura adds.

"So this Zoe is the middle sister?" Sera asks.

"And much more," Kaze confirms. "Zoe has actually been alive the longest of the three of us. She's a retired war hero/superhero. And without the A.I. activation program that she dumped into both me and Maizy, neither of us would be here."

"You forgot that Maizy was the one who finished building you," Jura adds.

"Boy, your family is put together even weirder than ours was," Kera mutters.

"Oh, and if Zuki tries to hug you? Dodge." Jura says, as she opens the door.

"Jura lady! Gimme Hugz!" is the last thing the group hears, before Jura is knocked off her feet by a little light green bundle of energy.

"UFF! Hi Zuki," Jura gasps, struggling to breath as Zuki gives her one of her crushing hugs.

"Sorry," Zuki says as she quickly releases Jura after hearing a loud "pop".

"Zuki! How many times do I have to tell you to be careful!" Maizy says as she runs out to check on Jura.

"Just…Gimme a minute," Jura gasps in pain.

"I didn't mean to hurt her! She's never broken when I hugged her before!" Zuki cries, nearly in tears.

"Everyone calm down," Jura says, the strain gone from her voice, as she sits up. "Come here Zuki."

"I'm sorry!" Zuki cries again dropping to her knees next to Jura.

"I know little one, I know. You just need to be more careful with your strength," Jura tells her, giving her a big hug.

"Never a dull moment," Kera says, as they watch the Godzilla girl get up after what would have been a permanently crippling injury to anyone without Regenerator G1 in their makeup.

"Actually, this is pretty normal," Maizy tells them with a smirk.

"And you must be Maizy," Sera says crouching down and offering her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to see that there are a few people at that school with some manners," Maizy smirks as she takes the offered hand and gives it a shake. "Maizy, the oldest, if smallest sister of the group."

"I'm Sera, and this is my twin, Kera," she responds with a smile.

"Yo," Kera adds with a wave.

"I see you are the diplomatic one," Maizy smirks, earning a laugh from Sera.

"I think I'm going to like you," Sera tells the little Mazinger.

"Heh, we'll see," Maizy shoots back.

"Come on, let's go inside," Kaze says as she offers a hand to Jura to help her up.

"So the pair of you are from and alternate Dimension?" Milenna asks, still attempting to wrap her formidable intellect around the concept.

"How is that even possible?" Mandy asks, intrigued.

"Well, in one of the realms, this warlord managed to gather enough power to himself that he gained the ability to travel the realms, collecting knowledge and technology. Eventually he started conquering worlds, and then entire realms, before moving on to the next one," Cole begins to explain.

"He eventually ended up in my home realm, and his arrival broke open the protections that kept other portals sealed. We figure he was laying his ground work for about a year before Cole arrived," Leona adds.

"So you are not both from the same "realm" as you call them?" Mandy asks.

"No. My home was a lot like this realm. Minus people like yourselves that is," Cole answers.

"My home on the other hand, is a lot more… low tech," Leona adds. "But we made up for it in other ways," she finishes, several balls of light appearing around her hands, and floating up toward the ceiling.

"How did you do that?" Melinna demands, unable to figure out where the energy that Leona had just released had come from.

"Magic," Leona answers.

"No, I'm serious. Where did that energy come from?" Melinna says.

"So was she," Cole tells the alien teacher. "Her home realm has powerful creatures that will share bits of their power with those with the natural ability to call upon them. They call the ability to wield those powers, and the effects that they create, magic."

"So she is some kind of witch?" Mandy asks.

"No, and if anyone calls her that outside of a Q and A session like this, you can most likely expect some collateral damage as she vents on whoever does it," Cole says.

"If you need to classify my powers, call me a mage. Or a Sorceress," She adds with a feral grin.

"Don't forget part dragon," a third voice adds, with an echoing quality to it.

"What was that?" Milenna demands, wildly looking around.

"That would be Frost. She's the ghost that gave Leona a whole bunch of abilities that no one in her realm had ever seen before," Cole answers.

"You expect us to believe in ghosts, as well as magic?" Mandy asks, arching an eyebrow of the pair.

"Frost? Quit being rude, and introduce yourself properly," Leona says.

"My apologies. I am Frost, Dragon of Ice," a chibi dragon says as it appears and lands on the table between the teachers and the visitors.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting development," Mandy smirks, her own draconic side instinctively knowing that this isn't a fake.

"You believe this?" Milenna demands as she turns to her fellow teacher in surprise.

"What other powers do you have, little one?" Mandy asks Frost.

"To be honest, I'm not so little," Frost smirks back. "But since the illusion of my true form won't fit within this chamber, I'll simply assume my second most used form," the spirit adds as the chibi dragon hops off the table, rapidly growing, and taking on a human appearance. When she turns back to the teachers, she looks like a washed out copy of Leona, dressed in white, with white hair and pale grey eyes, contrasting sharply with Leona's crimson mane of hair, and bright blue eyes.

"My powers grant her the ability to appear, and speak to others, without her needing to possess my body," Leona says as Frost walks through the couch and its occupants to stand behind them.

"I don't know how to deal with this one," Milenna mutters to herself, one hand massaging her forehead.

"Show them your last trick," Cole tells her.

"You first," Leona returns, leaning back and crossing her arms under her breasts.

"Alright," Cole agrees with a sigh. Standing up, he adds, "And there were a few other dangers in these alternate realms that I wasn't exactly prepared to deal with, since I found my way through a portal more by accident than design. In some of these other places, supernatural creatures are quite real. I had a run in with what can only be called a were-tiger."

Cole's body suddenly bulks up, while his hands, legs, and head all shift to a far more beastial appearance.

"As you can see, it left more than a minor mark on me," he says, his voice having dropped to a bass growl. "This form was originally that of a more conventional tiger," he adds, his huge canine teeth gleaming in the added light from Leona's mage lights. "An additional adventure resulted in my beast forms being altered to that of a Saber Tooth," he finishes his comments by shifting to his final form, that of a saber tooth tiger the size of a horse.

"Holy!" Milenna says as she and Mandy nearly fall over the back of their couch to put more room between themselves and the clearly dangerous animal Cole has just become.

"Relax girls, he really is just a big pussycat," Leona laughs, as Cole lays down with his head resting on his paws.

"Is he safe to be around?" Mandy asks, clearly still unsure.

"Yeah, he's safe. I think one of the reasons that his beast form is so big is so that there is enough room in his cat skull for his normal sized brain," Leona says, kneeling next to him and scratching his ears.

"_Your turn, Dragon Lady_," Cole thinks at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now change back and move the table out of the way. You know how much room this takes," Leona answers him out loud.

"In case you are wondering, we have a low level psychic link. When we are in fairly close proximity, we can communicate telepathically. Makes it a lot easier to communicate when I'm in beast form and can't form words," Cole tells them, after shifting back to his human form.

"You do realize that you are hitting us with a lot of information, all at once, right?" Mandy asks them.

"Even I'm having trouble, and I'm linked to the mainframe on my ship," Milenna admits.

"Then this one is going to blow your minds," Leona grins as Cole tips the table up against the wall. "I call upon the power of the Dragon!" she calls out, her head tipped back.

A frigid wind blows through the room, making her cloak and hair dance, before she is engulfed in an orb of white light so bright that no one in the room but Frost is able to look at her.

Within the globe, Leona's body undergoes massive changes. Spikes grow from her knees and elbows while horns grow from her shoulders, and from the sides of her head, sweeping back away from her face. As her hand and feet reconfigure, her spine triples in length, her new tail thick and muscular as that of one of the G-girls. While her tail forms, wings grow from her shoulders. The final change is when the silver scales cover her body, and her hair vanishes beneath the dragons head helm.

Spreading her wings, Leona destroys the globe from within, revealing her new form to the stunned teachers.

"Well, there are no worries about her fitting in around the school if she looks like that," Mandy comments when she can form a coherent sentence again.

"Why is it that all K-girls would rather be naked?" Milenna asks, shaking her head over what she's been subjected to since these two had arrived in her classroom.

"Clothes are a snap," Leona answers, as the helm just seems to flow from her head and into the rest of her body, revealing her crimson hair. With a snap of her clawed fingers, clothes form around her body.

"Try something a bit more like my style, babe," Cole tells her, smirking at the filmy garments that have appeared on her body.

"Okay," Leona answers a pair of jeans and modified t-shirt and leather jacket form over her body.

"God, don't let Darcy find out you can do that. She'll have a fit!" Mandy smirks.

"Who is Darcy?" Cole asks.

"The seamstress who specializes in making clothes for the girls we have here that can't wear regular clothes do to their more than human features," Milenna explains.

"Such as tails, horns and spikes?" Leona smirks with understanding.

"Exactly," Mandy confirms.

"Alright. I trust that we have passed the interview, so what do you suggest we do now that we've been dumped here?" Cole asks.

"Well, you are fairly well off in being able to adapt to our world, since it is so similar to your own," Mandy says.

"Tell me child, what is twelve multiplied by seven?" Milenna asks Leona.

"Umm….I don't have any idea?" she answers, shooting Cole a dirty look for keeping her from stealing the information from his mind.

"If you are willing, we can allow you to enroll here, and learn with the rest of our students," Mandy tells her.

"Any suggestions on where I can find a job? Call it a hunch, but I'm betting that things are not exactly free in this world, any more than they are in mine," Cole asks.

"Well, aside from your shape shifting abilities, what else can you do?" Milenna asks him.

"Well, I know at least a half dozen forms of martial arts, does that count for anything?" he asks.

The teachers share a look, before they turn to him as one and say," Gym teacher."

"Gym teacher?" he repeats, surprised.

"With those kinds of skills, you have what it takes to keep up with all the students we have here, both the humans, and the K's," Mandy answers.

"And what if I don't want to become a student?" Leona demands, annoyed that she would be treated like a child, while Cole would be a teacher.

"Well, I could always lock down your magics, and leave you locked up at whatever home I can afford for us on what I'll make as a teacher here," Cole answers, his raised eyebrow telling her to stop being difficult without saying a word, either out loud or in their link.

"Fine, you win. I'll be a student," she growls, not particularly happy about having her hand forced like that.

"Then it's decided. You can have the weekend to get acquainted with the town, and you will both start on Monday," Milenna says with a sigh of relief.

"One request," Mandy says as the newest arrivals at DKH prepare to leave.

"Yes?" Leona asks for the both of them.

"Could you stay like that? It will make it easier for you to fit in with the students. Most of the wholly human students are martial artists, and I really don't want you fighting with them with your sword," Mandy explains.

"Only while I'm in the school right? I don't have to stay like this for the entirety of our stay do I?" she asks, definitely not happy over that prospect.

"I think that will be fine," Cole says, shooting the senior teachers a look that clearly says don't push it any farther.

"Agreed," Melinna agrees for the both of them.

"Then we will see you on Monday," Cole says.

"Wait a moment!" Milenna calls.

"Now what?" Leona demands, clearly getting mad.

"Here, this is the address of the apartment building where some of the other teachers live. I can send word ahead, and have them ready an empty apartment for you," she answers, handing over a slip of paper.

"Thank you," Leona grits out, carefully plucking the paper from the aliens hand with her talons.

"Until Monday," Cole says, holding the door open for Leona, and waiting until her tail has cleared the door before stepping out himself.

"You sure this was a good idea?" Milenna asks.

"It's better than letting them run rampant without being able to keep track of them for most of the day, isn't it?" Mandy answers, collapsing back onto the couch.

"Yes, but not by much. And I'm not particularly happy about the fact that I can't identify the energy that girl wields," Milenna answers.

"Look at it this way. As long as she's a student, you can study her, and her powers. Just like you do the others," Mandy tells her.

"Well, there is that at least," Milenna finally agrees, as she prepares to return to her own office before returning to her ship's quarters.

"Just try to avoid making either of them mad at us. It's just a hunch, but I get the feeling that if they put their minds to it, they could do more damage than having Godzilla reawaken and choose this Island to serve as his main arena for facing all comers," the dragon woman says.

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing," the alien smirks, before closing the door on her way out.

"I need to get laid. They just don't offer enough perks to go along with that kind of stress," Mandy mutters as she gathers up her things so she can go home for the weekend.

Chapter 7

"You ready for this?" Cole asks, as he and Leona appear in the hall outside Mandy's office.

"Like I got a choice in the matter," she growls back, her tail lashing in annoyance.

"I thought we were past this," he sighs.

"Just because you screwed my brains out all weekend to take my mind off this, doesn't mean that I have to be happy about going through with it," she shoots back.

"Guess I'll just have to keep doing that until you get over it," he says with a smirk.

"Humph. We'll talk more about how annoyed I am over this after the day is over," she says as she reaches out and bangs on the door.

"Enter," Mandy calls from within.

"Morning," Cole says as they enter.

Mandy just stares at them for a few moments, before saying, "The two of you don't actually think that your clothes are acceptable, do you?"

"What's wrong with them?" Cole asks, looking down at his jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket.

With a long suffering sigh, Mandy explains, "Unless you are actively teaching your gym class, you will be expected to dress in a respectable manner, not like the students do once they leave the school. And you my dear, will be expected to wear the school uniform while you are here," she adds to Leona.

"I blame you for this," Leona says to Cole as she zaps a button down shirt and suit jacket onto him.

"That's the best I'm going to get out of this for him, isn't it?" Mandy asks with a sigh.

"Yes," Leona tells her. "Now what does this damn uniform I have to wear look like?"

"Take a look," Mandy says, showing her some official forms that display a picture of the female school uniform.

"…..For the record….I do this under protest," Leona growls, as her clothes change to mimic the school uniform.

"Now that that is out of the way, would you like to lead us to our classes?"

"Actually, I'll be taking Leona with me, since she will be in my homeroom, and I have a guide coming to show you the way to the gym," she answers.

"You wanted to see me?" a K-girl with blue/grey skin and short white hair asks as she peeks around the open door.

"Yes, Sora. I'd like you to show our new Phs. Ed. Instructor to the Gym, and show him around a bit. I've already cleared it with your instructors, so you need not worry about being late," Mandy tells her.

"Alright," Sora agrees.

"Mr. Tyger, if you would be so kind as to go with Sora?" Mandy asks.

"Sure," he agrees, standing up.

"This way, sir," Sora says, leading the way.

"I'm going to kill him if he tries anything," Leona mutters darkly.

"Just a bit possessive aren't you?" Mandy asks with a sardonic smile.

"We're married, it's my right," Leona shoots back.

"…Didn't see that one coming," Mandy mutters under her breath as she stands up. "Well, let's go. I'll introduce you to the class. Oh, and here is your schedule, and map of the campus," she adds, handing over the items.

"Well, at least thanks to Cole I can read this," Leona says as she looks them over.

"I think you will get along pretty well with the other new students we've had lately," Mandy tells her as they move through the halls.

"We shall see," Leona mutters, a she follows along behind the elder dragon woman.

"Class? We have another new arrival," Mandy announces as she enters the classroom.

"Another robot?" Gabby growls.

"Leona?" Mandy says, before Leona enters the room.

"Wow. She's a definite hotty," one of humans says loud enough for her to hear, but not for her to identify the speaker.

She visibly bristles, as Mandy says, "Enough. Leona? There is an open seat in front of Kaze."

"Alright," Leona says with a scowl, moving to the seat she's been assigned.

"Welcome to the school," Jura says as she sits down.

"Thanks," Leona mutters.

"I can't shake the feeling that we've met before, but I'm positive that I've never seen a silver dragon k-girl before," Kaze says.

"It would most likely be due to the fact that I was ready to play slice and dice on golden eyes here when we arrived in that classroom," Leona says, tipping her head backward over her chair to look at Kaze and Jura upside down.

Both of their eyes go wide at that, but their outburst is cut off when Leona puts a finger to her lips, before mouthing "later".

"What is your first class?" Kaze asks, her voice no longer as friendly as it was.

"Who wants to bet it's English? Kera smirks from behind Kaze.

"Ten yen!" Giganna accepts.

"How did you know what my first class was?" Leona demands, sitting up and spinning around.

"Looks like you lose this round," Sera tells Giganna, as she takes the coin from the Gigan girl and flips it to her sister.

"And in response to your question, there seems to be a rather large lack of imagination when it comes to how the schedules have been arranged for the newer students," Jura tells her. "The four of us have all the same classes at the same times," she adds, gesturing to Kaze and the twins.

"Then it will most likely be five," Leona smirks, showing them her schedule.

"Yes it will," Kaze confirms.

"Then let's go. We will show you around, and you will tell us what happened after Mandy and Milenna led you and the other guy out of the class," Jura tells her.

"I think that's the part I hate most about this kind of travel. Always so freaking many questions to answer," Leona says, standing up and joining the foursome as the class empties out.

"So that is what they had planned. A pity that the project blew up in their face," The commander says as she and Cyra recover from the dragoness' "Debriefing".

"Yes, Mistress," Cyra answers, barely able to move after what she's been put through for the past few days.

"It really is too bad that your organic parts can't keep up with the rest of you during these marathon sessions," the commander smiles at her most loyal pet.

"What would you have of me?" Cyra asks her.

"You will be accompanying Spyra on her next mission," the commander says, climbing out of the bed.

"And my part will be?" Cyra inquires, as she slowly drags herself toward the edge of the bed.

"Back up. She will be doing some infiltration, and you will provide support for her if things go wrong," the commander answers. "I don't expect there to be any problems, but it would be foolish to not have some form of contingency in place."

"Understood. We will leave, as soon as I can stand without falling on my face," Cyra tells her with a wry grin on her face.

"Yes, you do that," the commander agrees with a smile.

Cyra enjoys the sight of watching her mistress don her own armor, before leaving her alone.

"I need to get something to recharge my system before I go," Cyra mutters. "I wish they had replaced more of me with the new parts," she says a she reaches down and starts attaching the parts of her armor.

It takes her the better part of a half hour to put herself back together and manage to move without staggering.

"So we get to go exercising after we finish eating, so we can get sick, huh?" Leona asks as she takes her tray of questionable food to sit with the others.

"Well, only you and Jura will have to worry about that," Kera tells her as they maneuver through the lunchroom.

"Yippee," Leona mutters before her tray goes flying as she is tripped. Picking herself up off the floor, she spins around and snarls, "Okay, who's the wise ass?"

Several of the rougher girls can't help snickering at her, and what is happening behind her.

"You, are going to pay for that," Crystal snarls in fury as she disgustedly wipes the food off of herself.

"Oh shit," several voices mutter around her as the blue saurian stands up and hurls her table across the room to smash against the wall.

"Why me?" Leona asks, looking up and waiting like she actually expects an answer. She is taken completely by surprise when she is grabbed by a giant invisible hand, and hurled through the window and out into the commons.

"Do we have what it takes to stop Crystal?" Kaze asks.

"Yes, but given what we know about Leona so far, does she need our help?" Kera answers.

"It doesn't matter. She was set up, and we need to try and make sure that she doesn't get beat up too badly by Crystal," Jura tells them.

"Then shouldn't we be out there?" Sera asks, pointing toward the hole where Crystal is floating out to continue her attack.

"Move!" Kaze orders, the foursome leading the charge outside as the others follow.

"Nice. I wish someone had warned me that there was a telekinetic around here," Leona grunts as she picks herself up from where she had landed.

"I don't normally make a habit of getting my hands dirty teaching you new people how things work around here, but you've earned a special lesson," Crystal snarls, food still matting her hair and staining her uniform.

"I don't suppose it would help to say that I was sorry, and that someone tripped me, would it?" Leona asks.

The crystal spires that rise from the ground around her serve as an adequate answer.

"Well, I guess if we are going to fight, then I'm going to have to win, just so I can get a little respect around this dump," Leona tells her.

"That's a laugh. Some little generic K-girl who isn't even based on one of the true monsters of the world, beat _me_?" Crystal sneers. "As if that's even a possibility," she finishes, punctuating her scornful remark with a corona beam.

The blast hits Leona in the side, leaving a nasty scorch mark across her ribs.

"My turn," Leona growls, holding her hand out, palm up, before clenching her fist.

Spires of ice erupt from the ground, their points aimed to do critical damage to Crystal.

"How do you like that, Bitch?" Leona snarls.

"You might almost have some real power in you," Crystal admits, the ice shattering as she smashes her arm through it. "But I'm afraid that today isn't going to be a good day for you," she concludes, grabbing Leona in a telekinetic grip again, and slamming her into the nearest tree.

"You are beginning to piss me off, Blue," Leona growls as she gets up, one hand on the tree trunk to steady herself.

"The baby has fangs, but does she know how to use them?" Crystal laughs, her shoulder crystals and horn sparkling as she prepares another corona beam.

"Digger Bolt!" Leona snarls, her free hand stretched out toward Crystal.

The lightning bolt that hits her in the chest takes Crystal completely by surprise.

"Damn, that one's going to leave a mark," someone says off to the side, as the foursome watches Leona's counter attack.

"Crystal's not going to let her walk after taking a shot like that," Kaze says.

"How is Leona? She's taken a couple of hits by now I'm sure, and my vision isn't on the same level as the three of you," Jura says.

"She has a nasty scorch mark across her ribs, and looks like she's been slammed around some. Other than that, she's doing pretty good," Kera informs her.

"That hurt," Crystal grunts as she stands back up. "Take this!" she snarls as she unleashes the most powerful corona beam the crowd has seen her use.

"Ah, crap," Leona mutters as she dives out of the way, the beam burning a track along her tail. Flinging a hand out at Crystal, she pelts the SpaceGodzilla girl with dagger like shards of ice.

"Oh, would you knock off those stupid ice attacks? I can survive the vacuum of space, there isn't any way your little cold attacks are going to have any effect on me at all," Crystal tells her, uprooting one of her spires and sending it like a spear at Leona.

"_Cole, I have a little problem, and need some assistance," _Leona calls in her mind.

"Where are you?" Cole says out loud as he leaves his office by the gym.

"_I'm in the commons. But I don't need you to fight my battles for me, I just need you to release the limiter,_" she thinks at him as she dives clear of the shattering spar.

"Why do you need your full powers?" he asks, unaware of several teachers staring at him as he talks to himself.

"_Because, just like our luck normally runs, I managed to get in a fight with someone who is practically immune to my ice powers at this level. I need to jack things up, fast, or I'm going to get my tail burnt off!"_ she sends back to him.

"Just make sure you don't kill her," is Cole's sole response before concentrating on the chocker around Leona's neck.

"Oh, yeah," Leona grins as she feels her magic surge to its full power. Her hair changes color to an almost translucent red, while her eyes loose all detail and simply become a flood of color. "Time to play," she smirks as she leaps into the air, and just stands there, not using her wings or anything, simply standing ten feet off the ground.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Crystal calls up, lifting herself into the air as well.

"Digger bolt," Leona smiles, casting another lighting bolt at Crystal, being careful to keep it at the same level as the last one.

"Oh, no. Not this time," Crystal sneers, turning so that the blast hits her shoulder crystal.

"What the?" Leona says in shock as Crystal absorbs the blast.

"Here, you can have it back," Crystal tells her, as she releases the energy back at Leona as a corona beam.

"I don't think so," Leona grins back at her, an invisible shield blocking the beam.

"Crystal makes a face at her as she says, "Moderately impressive. But can you keep this up?"

Then she unleashes several more corona beams in rapid succession.

"Definitely." Leona grins back as her shield intercepts every blast. "And I think I've finally figured out your weakness."

"That's funny, since last time I checked, I didn't have any," Crystal retorts, sending several spires at her from behind.

"Well, you see, everything you've done so far has been to keep me at range so you can use your distance attacks on me," Leona explains, her wings opening to display the blue membranes between the ribbing, before she shoots skyward away from the spires. "So I'm betting that you can't fight worth a damn up close!" she sneers as she comes in to punch Crystal in the jaw.

"Guess again!" Crystal yells, grabbing Leona's outstretched hand and spinning her around in mid air before throwing her into the ground hard enough that she is in the center of an impact crater.

"K-rist! Is she okay?" Kaze demands, as everyone watches Crystal land gently, then strut over to look down on her win.

"Hell if we can tell," Kera answers.

"Ever since she started standing on air, she's been putting out too much energy for us to read. She keeps blinding our scanners," Sera explains.

"Is she still doing that?" Jura demands.

The both nod.

"Then she's still okay," she says with a sigh of relief.

"You still alive?" Crystal smirks as she stands at the lip of the crater.

"Never better," Leona answers, her wings blowing the rising dust and smoke from her impact away, revealing her answering smirk.

"Oh goody. I haven't had this much fun in some time," Crystal grins, energy leaping from the remaining spires to her shoulder crystals as she charges up for a big blast.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm done playing," Leona tells her, jerking a hand up at her.

Crystal reacts as if she's been slapped, suddenly unable to move.

"Wha.. What did you just do to me?" Crystal demands, struggling to make her body obey her orders.

Leona arches an eyebrow as she ascends the side of the crater. "I would have thought it would have been obvious to you. You're not the only one who can control objects with her powers," Leona smiles.

"You, are a TK as well?" Crystal grits out, still fighting to be free.

"Only when I'm able to access my complete powers. Since I have a hard time controlling that much power unless I'm actively using it, my husband and I keep it locked down most of the time," Leona tells her, as she clears the rim of the crater to stand face to face with Crystal.

"Little young to be married, ain'tcha?" Crystal smirks, now fighting with words, since she can't break free of Leona's magical hold.

"Things work a bit different in my home realm, but that's not really any of your concern," Leona tells her, walking slowly around her captive.

"Let me out of this hold, and I'll make it worth your while," Crystal tells her in her most seductive voice.

"What is your name anyway?" Leona asks, standing behind her and shaking her head.

"Crystal. Gina and Kiga are my little sisters," she says, just in case it means anything to her.

"Haven't met them yet, but I'm sure once news of this trick gets around, I won't have many problems with people wanting a piece of me," Leona tells her, using her grip on Crystals body to pose her like a doll.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Crystal demands as Leona forces her to cross her arms behind her head, and puff out her chest.

"Hmm…. The uniform is going to have to go," Leona mutters, snapping her fingers and turning Crystal's clothes to dust. All of them. "Much better," she smirks as she takes another tour around Crystal inspecting her.

"This isn't funny!" Crystal says, blushing in embarrassment, more because she is completely at this girls mercy than anything else.

"Oh, I agree completely. Attempting to beat the shit out of me because someone tripped me to send that tray of food at you isn't funny at all. Having to call for help so I had enough power to defend myself against you isn't funny in the least," Leona tells her. On the other hand, your punishment isn't going to be funny either, but I think "Awe Inspiring" is a worthy goal. Don't you?"

"What are planning to do to me?" Crystal adds, renewing her struggles to free herself.

"I thought I'd help you live up to your name. I think you'd make a beautiful diamond statue. Especially in that pose," Leona answers.

"NO!" Crystal yells, uprooting all her remaining spires and sending them at Leona.

"You really don't have any choice in this matter. And you brought it on yourself when you attacked me," Leona tells her, causing all the spires to shatter with a gesture.

"You can't do this!" Crystal cries as her body freezes into immobility as it is transformed from organic crystal to colored diamond.

"Sure I can," Leona tells her, giving her solidified rump a good smack.

"Please! Don't do this!" she pleads as the effect climbs up her body.

"Oh stop it. This is only temporary," Leona tells her, sealing her lips together in a seductive smile, and forcing her face to relax before the effect freezes her features like that. "And now, to make sure my point gets across to the rest of them."

"What's going on?" Jura demands.

"I think the fights over. Crystal is just standing there, _posing,_" Kaze tells her.

"Something weird is happening," Sera says.

"The energies out there are still fluctuating," Kera adds.

"The Fight is over. You can all come out and see now," Leona's voice echo's across the commons to the crowd.

"What have you done!" Kumi shrieks when she gets a look at Crystal.

"I'm making a point," Leona calmly informs her.

"You bitch!" Kumi snarls, preparing to rip Leona apart.

"Do you really want to join her like that?" Leona asks, pointing past the advancing spider girl at her frozen lover.

"Leona, what have you done," Jura asks, on hand covering her mouth as the foursome finally arrives.

"I turned her into a statue," Leona tells them.

"Leona…." Cole snarls as he shoves his way through the crowd.

"She's not dead, and she will be back to normal in a few hours," Leona tells him before he can say anything else.

"Limiter Restore!" he growls, cutting her power level back to what it was before.

No one notices as her hair and eyes return to normal.

"Who is her roommate?" Cole asks the crowd.

"I am," Kumi answers, tears running down her cheeks.

"Take her back to your dorm. She should be back to normal in a few hours or so," he tells her.

"How do you know that?" she demands, barely able to keep from screaming at him.

"Trust me, and take care of her. If she gets broken while she's like this, she will never be the same again when the spell wears off," he tells her.

"Not much chance of that. There was a reason I chose Diamond for what I was changing her into," Leona says with a smirk.

"Zip it," Cole snarls, pointing a finger at her. "This was hardly necessary to win a stupid schoolyard fight!"

"I beg to differ," Leona shoots back, energy crackling in her eyes as she stands up to him. "You see this hole? I made that when she slammed me into the ground!" She points back toward the main building and adds, "That one? When she threw me through the damn wall!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to do that to her!" Cole snarls back, his voice getting deeper as his temper frays.

"Should we say anything?" Kaze mutters.

"Do you really want to get between them?" Jura answers.

"I think it's time we had a talk in private," Cole grits out, grabbing Leona's arm, just before the pair of them vanish.

"Where did they go?" Sera asks.

"They're gone! I can't pick them up on my scanners at all," Kera adds.

"One thing's for sure," Jura says as she stares after Kumi, as she carefully takes her lover's frozen body back to their room.

"Yeah. Things have just gotten a lot stranger around here," Kaze finishes for her, getting nods of agreement from the rest.

Unbeknownst to the spectators and combatants, this latest spectacle has a pair of additional viewers.

"This couldn't have happened better if I had planned it," Spyra tells Cyra, as the pair stand in the shadows near the edge of the schools roof.

"What are you talking about?" Cyra demands, annoyed that they are too far away for good audio reception to go with the enhanced visuals.

"This is my third run through this place, gathering what information I can without being detected," Spyra explains. "But during my first run, I discovered the perfect cover identity."

"Oh yeah? Going to have the Mistress enroll you?" Cyra smirks.

"Stop being a twit," Spyra counters, pointing to the yellow and black form that is currently ranting at the silver fighter.

"Damn…..Did they know about her when they built you?" Cyra asks, getting her first good look at Kumi.

"I don't know. And at this point, really couldn't care less," Spyra answers.

"So why haven't you just drugged her and gotten a disguise made that will let you imitate her?" Cyra asks, giving the silver dragon and blue saurian girls closer attention.

"Because her lover is the blue one," Spyra explains. "And as you've just witnessed, she is quite powerful. She's also an empath."

"Ah. Yeah, it would kind of blow your cover if she touched you and instantly knew that you are not her pet spider," Cyra says.

"Exactly. But after whatever the silver one did to her, I'm willing to bet that she's going to be either weakened, or just flat out of it for a while," the purple mech answers.

"So what's the plan? This is your mission, I'm just here as backup," Cyra asks.

The purple mecha spider girl gives her a truly malevolent grin and says, "Call the base. Inform them that we will be needing a transport, and team of keepers. We will be "collecting" a pair of subjects as soon as darkness falls."

"And if they resist?" Cyra asks, grinning back at her.

"Red Geisha wants her test subjects alive. She never said anything about bruised, battered, or bloody," Spyra answers her.

"I was hoping that was going to be your answer," Cyra says with a feral grin of her own as one of her forearm blasters extends from its housing for her to inspect.

"I heard that Leona's going to be out for a week, while she is punished for what she did to Crystal," Kera says as she joins her sister, along with Jura and Kaze, at the front entrance to the school.

"More to the point, _how_ did she do that to Crystal?" Kaze wonders. "Crystal is arguably the toughest K-Girl here. She and Kumi regularly take on greater numbers, and come out on top. I survived a fight with her when she was helping Dizzy, mainly because she was having more fun playing with me than she would have had destroying me."

"The _only_ reason I was able to make her stop that day was the fact that I managed to completely blindside her," Jura admits. "And you are right, she wasn't really fighting, it was more like a cat tormenting a smaller animal. I still don't know why she dropped the fight when I had her like that though. Between her and Dizzy, they could have given me just as much, if not more trouble than they did you."

"I've heard that besides her ability to move things with her mind, she also possesses the ability to read emotions when she touches someone," Sera says. "Perhaps she felt something when you grabbed her, and was willing to just let the matter drop because of that?"

"Makes about as much sense as any other reason we've come up with for the way that fight ended," Kaze says.

"Enough about this," Jura says, shaking her head and making her blue hair dance. "Crystal will recover, and Leona is out of the loop for a week. What we should be thinking about is the fact that the school festival is only a month and a half away!"

"So?" Kaze says, with a belligerent shrug.

"_So,_ what are we going to do for it?" Jura demands.

"You want to be _part_ of it?" Kaze says in surprise.

"Why is that so strange to you?" Jura demands, her tone saying that Kaze had better watch how she answers.

"It's just that unless you are playing soccer, you like to stay behind the scenes for the most part," Kaze says, praying that she doesn't screw up and piss her off. "It just kind of took me by surprise that you wanted to play a part in the fair is all."

"Well, I may not like to draw attention to myself most of the time, but we really should do something to help out with the fair," Jura says.

"Do we have any talents that we can actually turn into something usable for the fair?" Kaze asks, stopping and looking at each member of the group.

"Well, our father insisted we learn how to play musical instruments," Sera admits. "The hard way too, not by just downloading how to do it."

"What can you guys play?" Jura asks, surprised to find that her newest friends can play music.

"Guitar!" Kera says. "I can make a six string squeal for mercy!"

"So that's what you call it. I always thought you were trying to build up a big enough feedback loop to blow out the windows," Sera smirks at her sister.

"It's better than what you play, windbag!" Kera shoots back defensively.

"There is nothing wrong with playing a saxophone," Sera retorts in a lofty voice.

"Well, well, isn't this interesting," Kaze grins. "I'll need to do some asking around, but I think I may just have an idea for what we can do for the fair."

"What?" Jura demands, not understanding how this information can be used for the fair.

"I'm not going to say until I find out one way or another if it will work or not," Kaze answers. Then she calls Maizy on her built in com system.

"What do you want, you damn giant?" Maizy answers.

"I need you to talk with Imo and Nuri," Kaze tells her, ignoring her comments.

"About?" Maizy asks, wondering what Kaze could possibly want from her friends.

"I need to know which girls at the school know how to play musical instruments," Kaze says.

"Why?" Maizy demands.

"Because I've got an idea, and I need more info before I know if it will fly, or crash faster than a wing clipped 747," Kaze answers, before explaining the short version to her smaller sister.

"This could be fun. I'll help, but only if you agree to listen when I make a suggestion. Fair enough?" Maizy tells her.

"Agreed. And thanks squirt," Kaze grins, cutting the channel off before Maizy can vent her ire at being called a squirt.

"Is the van in position?" Spyra asks into her internal comlink.

"Affirmative," the driver answers.

"Containment team?" Cyra asks the same way.

"Locked, cocked, and ready to rock. Any of the others sticks their nose out of their room, they are going to get tanked up on enough tranquilizer to knock down a bull rhino," the squad leader answers.

"Then we are now operational. Strike team is moving into position now," Spyra tells them all, as she and Cyra slink out of their hiding place in the dorm basement.

"You sure this will work?" Cyra asks on a private channel, so that they can communicate while maintaining their silent movement.

"The odds are really high in our favor," Spyra answers. "But I'd be a complete moron to think that nothing could go wrong. That's why we called in the extra team."

"Well, so far so good," Cyra says as they make it to the ground floor without being spotted. "Which way?"

"This way. Their dorm is at the end of the hall. And just for our added benefit, they regularly make any others assigned to this area so miserable that they don't stay long," Spyra informs her partner, her grin shining in the darkened hall.

"That's why I like working with you. You leave very little to chance, and do your homework on your targets," Cyra smirks, her golden armor standing out like a beacon compared to Spyra's purple plating.

"Thank you," Spyra replies, her grin widening at the compliments. "Show time," she warns Cyra as she knocks on the door.

"I'm ..going to ….lock her…inside one…of my spires…and then shatter it….and her," Crystal growls, her speech coming out slowly as her body continues to revert back to its normal state.

"You just take it easy. You're not in any shape to do anything but recover from whatever the hell that bitch did to you," Kumi tells her lover, helping her to sit down, now that she can move again at last.

"I ..hate …feeling …like this," Crystal admits, her words coming slightly faster as the effects of Leona's spell finally run their course. "You know how those old women move, like they are afraid of making any sudden moves because they might break? That's how I feel. My reflexes are so slow right now, it would probably take two minutes for my leg to hop if you hit my knee with that stupid little rubber mallet!"

"Just relax, and let yourself recover," Kumi whispers in her ear, trying to massage Crystal's shoulders.

"Thirsty," Crystal says as she reaches out a shaky hand toward a glass across the room and tries to call it to her. When nothing happens, she clenches her fist and slams it down on the arm of the chair, barely leaving a mark. "Damnit! And on top of it all, my powers aren't working yet, and I'm weak as a kitten!"

"Just relax," Kumi soothes. "I'll get it for you. And I'll help you plot that bitches downfall too. You've got a week to recover. She's going to be out that long."

"What happened to her?" Crystal asks as Kumi leaves her to go get the glass.

"Right after I got there and found out what she had done, that new teacher, the guy with the black ponytail? Well, he showed up and started yelling at her, and she started yelling right back. I swear, you would have thought they were married the way that went at it. Anyway, he grabbed a hold of her, and they both just vanished. Poof, there one second, gone the next. I heard while you were still frozen that she was out for a week, serving her punishment, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean," Kumi tells her.

A hard knock on the door interrupts Crystal's next comment.

"Probably one of the teachers come to check that you did thaw out," Kumi says as she moves to the door.

Kumi barely gets the door open before she collapses like her bones had turned to jello.

"Nighty night," Spyra says into the comlink as her spider limbs shoot forward as the door opens. In less than a second, all four hit Kumi in the torso, each hit pumping in a significant amount of drugs meant to knock her out quickly.

"Sure you didn't over do it?" Cyra asks her as she steps past the collapsing spider girl and into the room.

"Positive. Her own natural toxins make it harder to use this kind of stuff on her, but after spending the time to raid all their medical records, I managed to get this mix figured out for her. Now be a dear and handle her lover," Spyra returns.

"Delighted," Cyra answers, her tail twitching in anticipation.

"Kumi!" Crystal snarls in rage, as she forces herself to move.

"Oh, still feeling a little out of it? That's too bad," Cyra says as she steps over Kumi's body to confront Crystal. "For you that is."

"Who are you, and what did you do to her?" Crystal demands, as she tries to channel enough energy to fire a corona beam.

"I didn't do a thing to her," Cyra grins. "And you don't need to ask so many annoying questions!" she finishes, rocketing an uppercut into the point of Crystals' chin.

In her weakened state, Crystal is sent flying across the room by the blow, and is out cold when Cyra moves over to check on her.

"How's yours?" she asks Spyra.

"Sleeping like a furry baby," the spider bot answers with a grin.

"Mines out like a light too. Let's get them to the van, and into their restraints. I don't want this one waking up and getting her powers back before we have her locked up in the containment area," Cyra orders.

"I thought this was my mission?" Spyra asks, annoyed that she's being ordered around.

"It is, and as soon as we finish what I just said, it will be a complete success," Cyra answers, scooping Crystal up off the floor and slinging her over her shoulder.

"Oh, all right," Spyra answers as she lifts Kumi and leads the way toward the back of the dorm where their transport is located.

"Any problems?" the squad leader asks when they arrive at the laundry room.

"No." the mecha girls answer.

"Hurry, we need to get gone, and get Spyra equipped with her disguise so she can come back and keep tabs on this lot," Cyra orders.

"Yes Ma'am," the squad leader says as one of his men opens the door, and another rushes out to open up the van.

In a matter of seconds, the strike team boards the van, and they calmly drive away.

And no one noticed a blessed thing…

Chapter 8

"So what do you have?" Kaze asks Maizy while they wait for Jura finish up in the bathroom and come down stairs.

"Not much to be honest," Maizy answers. "Most of the Mothras know how to play the piano, but Meo is the best of the bunch on it." Then she smirks and adds, "She's good enough that she's been giving lessons."

"To who?" Kaze asks.

"Lara," Maizy grins.

"You're joking right?" Kaze says in shock. "The most heavily armed girl in school is taking piano lessons from Meo?"

"It's not _that_ strange," Maizy shoots back. "They are friends after all."

Shaking her head, Kaze just asks, "Any others?"

"Yeah. A certain skater also happens to be a fair hand with a pair of drumsticks," Maizy tells her.

"Des knows how to play the drums?" Kaze asks, just to be sure.

"How many skater punks do you have at that school?" Maizy shoots back.

"A few of the humans are into it, but I think Des is the only K that thinks skateboards are cool," Kaze answers.

"Unfortunately that's all I've got for you," Maizy tells her.

"That's alright. It actually takes care of what we will need to fill in the gaps" Kaze says thoughtfully. "If they are willing, that will give us a drummer, at least one keyboardist, a guitar, a sax, and a pair of lead singers."

"You're going to make Jura get up there and _sing?_" Maizy demands, giving her sister wide eyes.

"You bet. It was here idea that we do something for the fair, so it's only fair that she has to be up there with the rest of us," Kaze answers.

"I hope this one doesn't blow up in your face," Maizy mutters.

"Get her into the observation chamber, and strap her down! Move it!" Crystal hears as she is roughly dragged by her armpits down a hall, her legs and tail dragging the ground behind her.

"_Still can't move," _she thinks, as she tries to force her body to obey her.

"Hurry it up! The control room says she's waking up!" the voice from before shouts.

"_Hope I can do this," _she thinks blurrily as she focuses what concentration she can muster. Un-noticed by anyone, small green sparks trail off of the crystal formation on the tip of her tail, vanishing as they hit the floor.

Before Crystal can congratulate herself on seeding her route with her crystals, she is slammed down into a chair, her tail yanked out the back, and her arms, legs, and neck locked in place with metal cuffs. Then they lock another cuff around her tail, effectively trapping it against the side of the chair.

"Who are you people?" she slurs, wondering if she has a concussion from that golden robots punch.

"None of your business, freak!" A new voice off to her right snarls, delivering a vicious slap that actually knocks the blind fold off of her face.

Looking around with blurry eyes, Crystal is able to count three distinct blobs of color around her, most of each blob is army green, with smaller blobs of flesh tone where she imagines a head would go, and a another blob of crimson off to one side.

"_Must be some kind of arm band,"_ she thinks, not ready to risk getting decked again just yet.

"Let's go. The commander wants this room sealed," a second new voice adds, moving away toward the door.

"Right," the shouter form the hallway says as the other pair follow the first out the door.

"_Kumi, what have we ended up in this time?"_ Crystal thinks, before oblivion reclaims her.

"Why can't I get the twins off my mind?" Jura mutters to herself as she scrubs her face hard enough that if she was human she would be giving herself rug burn. "_If Kaze knew about that dream I had last night, she'd blast me with her eyebeams!"_ she thinks, remembering how she had imagined both twins, a pair of strap-ons, and herself as the filling in the sandwich. "God, knock it off you damn fool!" she growls at herself, splashing cold water on her face. "I need to get Kaze alone later, and have some fun," she decides as she dries her face and heads down to find the others before they leave for school.

"Let me out of here! Where's Crystal! Why are we here!" Kumi rants at maximum volume, lashing her body back and forth on the table, attempting to break free of the restraints holding her down. "Let me UP!" she finally screams in frustration, before settling down to rest for a bit.

"Finally worked yourself out, huh?" A snide voice says from directly "above" Kumi.

Craning her head back against the table, Kumi manages to catch a glimpse of a spider like shadow backlit by the lights in the hall way.

"Un-strap me from this damn table, and I'll show you a work out," Kumi snarls.

"Sorry, but _that_ would be rather counterproductive to my plans," the voice continues as the speaker moves deeper into the room.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" Kumi snarls as she gets her first good look at the speaker.

"Isn't it obvious?" Spyra asks, completely done up in her disguise. "I'm you," she finishes in a perfect imitation of Kumi's voice.

"It will never work," Kumi grins back. "I can't wait to see you try and get close to Crystal. She'll rip your head off."

"I suspect you are right about that," another voice says as the table Kumi is strapped to begins to rise up, before tipping down at the foot, leaving her leaning back at roughly a thirty degree angle. "But as you can plainly see, she won't be much of a threat to our plans."

"What. Have. You. Done. To. Her!" Kumi screams in outrage as she sees Crystal on a monitor on the wall. Her head is covered by a silver mesh that only leaves her face clear, and she is cuffed hand foot and tail to a futuristic chair that appears solid enough to hold the SpaceGodzilla girl, even if she was conscious, which she isn't judging by how her head is hanging down.

"We haven't done much of anything to her yet," the second voice says as she steps into view from behind the table. Her crimson armor and golden helmet make her silver skin shine all the brighter in the dim lights.

"Who the fuck are you? Zoe's evil twin?" Kumi spits at the new comer.

"Something like that," she says with a smirk.

"I do believe I have everything I need, Commander," Spyra says, still using Kumi's voice.

"Good. Make sure you keep an eye out for any of the children. I have an annoying feeling that these older ones are going to be rather difficult to train," the commander answers.

"Perhaps Cyra could be of some assistance? She does have that trick with her voice….." Spyra suggests with a shrug.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you both fry," Kumi snarls at them, only to have her double lash out with one of her spider legs in a vicious smack that snaps her head to the side.

"You are not to speak unless spoken to," Spyra tells her without turning around.

"Who says," Kumi mutters, a thin trickle of blood leaking from the corner of her mouth.

"Your new mistress. The Red Geisha," Spyra informs her.

"And who is that supposed to be?" Kumi asks, one of her standard smirks forming at that name.

"That would be me," the commander says as she turns away from the monitor to face Kumi. "And you will behave, or I will start removing parts of your anatomy that you would rather keep attached."

"With what?" Kumi shoots back, just now noticing the odd little shield that Geisha has attached to her right arm.

"I'm just as strong as Mazinger Zoe," she snarls in response, grabbing Kumi's left arm, and starting to squeeze. When tears of pain start to leak from Kumi's eyes, she finally relents. "But the brute force method is something that I have underlings for. I find that this does a better job of cutting problems down to size," she adds as she steps back, a energy blade erupting from between the shield and her arm, shooting forward past her hand.

Kumi's eyes lock onto the blade as she brings it in close enough to her leg to start singing her fur.

"I think it's safe to say that you've finally got her attention," Cyra smirks from behind her.

"Damnit! I'm supposed to be the sneaky one here! How did you manage that?" Spyra demands, slipping out of Kumi's voice for a moment.

"With you so intent on the show, it was easy," the golden dragon answers, stepping out where Kumi can see her.

"Spyra, would you like to get us started before you leave?" Geisha asks.

"Of course," she answers. Kumi shrinks back as much as she can from her double as she stretches one of her spider legs forward, and lays the tip against the inside of Kumi's elbow, right above the vein.

"What are you doing?" Kumi demands, a sinking feeling in her gut.

"We plan to convince you to join us. Don't worry, soon enough you'll think it was your own idea anyway," Spyra tells her, one of her injectors shooting out and dumping it's load of drugs into Kumi, before retracting back into its armored housing, all in less than a second.

"Back to your new assignment," Geisha orders.

"Yes, commander," "Kumi" salutes, before leaving the room.

"And as for you," Geisha says as Kumi's head starts to loll and her attention jerks back and forth. "Cyra has a few things she wants to tell you."

"That I do. Listen well spider legs, because you will want to hear everything I tell you," Cyra says as Geisha leaves the room, the shifting harmonics of the sonic weapon in her voice working with the drugs roaring through Kumi's system to make her extremely suggestible.

"Kim wants to know _why_ new teacher thinks he can order Kim to leave snacks in Kim's locker," Guy Kim Odo growls, actually becoming annoyed for the first time many of his fellow students can remember outside of one of the knockdown drag out super brawls that occasionally happen around the school. "None of other teachers ever ordered Kim to do that before."

"What do I have to do to get you to follow my directions?" Cole asks, _really_ wishing he could just hit something and make his headaches go away. Or at least pass them on to someone else, through his fist.

"Well, you can always fight him," Sora tosses in from the side.

"No I can't," Cole returns. "He's a student, and I'm a teacher. I lay a hand on him, and there will be hell to pay. And lately, they've been looking for a chance to even the score with me," he adds the last under his breath.

"Then call it a ….demonstration," Giganna smirks. "He wants to see what you've got, and you want him to actually listen to what you tell him to do. I think the rules will allow for a little demonstration of what the two of you are capable of."

"Kim is going to rip this guy's head off," Kaze says, shaking her head.

"Don't bet on it," Sera returns. "He wasn't afraid to get in Leona's face, even after what she did to Crystal, remember? I think he's got more than you are giving him credit for."

"Why does everything around this place have to end up a fight?" Jura wonders out loud.

"To keep us from getting board?" Kera smirks, getting groans from the others.

It takes several more minutes of convincing, but eventually Cole relents. While the rest of the class moves off the field and into the stands, he and Kim face off.

"The rules are simple. First one to land ten solid body blows on the other wins. Sora is going to act as Ref, since I doubt the rest of us can stay out of Kim's way," Giganna calls, acting as M.C. of this little event. Then she vacates the field to the combatants, and starts taking bets.

"Whenever you two are ready," Sora grins.

"For the record, I still think this is a bad idea," Cole says, bowing to Kim before taking up a ready stance.

Kim is actually surprised by Cole's actions. "You study Martial Arts?" he asks, mimicking the bow, and assuming his own stance.

"You might say that," Cole answers with a wry smile, his eyes cold as he studies Kim's form, and wonders what kind of moves the boy has.

"Ready? _FIGHT!_" Sora yells.

Kim doesn't waste any time, exploding into action with a rushing jab aimed at the center of Cole's chest.

Cole brings both arms up in a cross block, but the blow still knocks him off his feet, and several feet away.

"Is Teacher able to continue?" Kim asks.

"Damn kid, you hit like a freight train," Cole mutters, rubbing both arms to get some of the stinging feeling out of them, before climbing back to his feet. He calmly walks back toward Kim, and gives him a second bow, before adding, "Nice punch. But don't expect to land many more of them."

"Kim thinks Teacher talks big," the saurian boy says, halfway through delivering a roundhouse punch.

Cole just drops below the path of travel Kim's fist follows, and delivers a solid jab of his own to the boys midsection.

"Oww," Cole mutters shaking his hand, while Kim staggers back, covering his gut. "What the hell are your abs made of? Concrete?"

"That's one for the ponytail!" Giganna calls.

"Obviously, Kim has underestimated new Teacher. Time to fix that," he says, launching himself into a flying kick aimed at Cole's chest.

"Guess again kid," Cole says, spinning out of the way. "That move only works in the movies, or when the other guy can't see you coming."

And the follow up tail smack as Kim flies past takes him completely by surprise.

Picking himself up off the ground, Cole gives himself a good shake, muttering, "After all that time with Leona, I should have seen that one coming."

"Teacher isn't taking Kim seriously. Kim is best fighter in school!" the boy says, launching into a series of punch combinations with a kick thrown in now and then to mix things up.

"Oh, I readily admit you are good, Kim," Cole answers, ducking, dodging and weaving as he back peddles from the boys onslaught. "But you know what they say : There is always someone who knows something that you don't."

And with that, Cole grabs Kim's incoming punch, and pivot/throws him deeper into the field.

"Teacher is quick, Kim will give him that," the boy says as he starts back to the fight. "But speed can't always win the battle!"

"Neither can raw power, all by itself," Cole answers. "That's why you need to find the proper balance."

"There is wisdom in that," Kim admits, unloading a sweeping kick that can snap off a phone pole.

"So you do listen, when it makes overwhelming sense," Cole smiles as he leaps over the kick, and lashes out at Kim's chest with one of his own.

"Your turn to fly!" Kim yells as he grab's Cole's foot, and launches him as he had done to Kim.

No sooner does Kim release him, then he vanishes, and Kim is knocked on his face as Cole's kick connects with his back.

"Two for the Tyger!" Sora announces.

"How did Teacher do that?" Kim demands, turning his unwanted dive into a summersault that returns him to his feet.

"What did I tell you earlier?" Cole smirks, preparing for whatever Kim has up his sleeve next.

"Did you just see what I did?" Kaze asks, shocked as their teacher is thrown in one direction, vanishes, and reappears behind Kim, turning the momentum from the throw into the force to deliver a flying kick that knocks the strongest boy in the school on his face.

"We saw it. Damned if we know _how_ he did it, but we all saw it," Sera answers her, getting nods from both her sister and Jura.

"If Kim does as Teacher asks during class, would Teacher be willing to teach Kim new techniques?" he asks, relaxing from his stance.

"I can show you. Whether or not you can learn them will depend on your current level of abilities," Cole answers him.

"Martial Arts Club, after school," Kim nods. Then he calmly walks over and stuffs all his snacks back into his bag, and places it in the stands, before returning.

"Now then, shall we get back to Class?" Cole calls to the rest, causing them to empty out of the stands.

"You seem…..different than the others. Like you are something I may have run across in the past….." A blood red K-girl with black striping says to herself, as she peers through an observation window at the still unconscious Crystal. Then she grins widely, revealing a mouth full of needle like teeth, before licking her lips and adding, "I bet you would be a lot of fun to "play" with."

"Best leave that one alone. Mistress has plansss," another voice says, coming from above the first girl.

"You dare give me orders, Korgha?" the first snarls as she spins and looks up at the bat girl hanging upside down from the rafters of the warehouse that the RBA has converted to their purposes.

"Never Ezra," she answers, well aware of just how dangerous the other is. "Passing along information, so that you do not do something that would result in your being punished again. You are always so….difficult to speak to after the commander orders you to remain in the sealed room for days at a time."

"….Yes….It takes me a while to recover from being cut off from everything…."the white manned girl agrees, her posture stiffing in recollection of her past punishments.

"Then you will leave her in peace?" Korgha asks, dropping down to hover above Ezra's head with slow flaps of her arm/wings.

"For the time being," Ezra agrees. Then she offers up a malicious grin and adds, "I plan to ask Geisha if I may "play" with this one when she is no longer of any use. There is something about her that calls to me, and I wish to see what she is capable of, before I rip her heart out and feast upon it."

"So glad to see that you did plan to ask first, rather than simply acting on your impulses like you normally do," Red Geisha adds sarcastically as she nears her servants.

"Mistress," Both k-girls say, as they drop to their knees.

"Rise," Geisha orders them. "I wish for the two of you to begin patrolling the area around the base each night. Korgha will provide most of the "legwork" from the air, with You, Ezra, backing her up if required. You are not to engage any one without my express orders, unless they are openly assaulting the base, or our tanker/transport ship. I don't want a string of bizarre and brutal murders drawing unwanted attention to our location."

"Yes mistress," Korgha says, her weak legs, unable to propel her into the air without the assistance of a massive downbeat from her wings. Once airborne, she immediately heads out of the building, managing to fly through the doors at full speed, and not grazing anything on the way through.

"As you wish," Ezra says, clearly not happy at all about being forced to reign in her impulses.

"Cheer up, my sadistic pet. If you fulfill this assignment well, I may give you your desire, and let you play with dear Crystal for a time when I finish with her," Geisha says, running a finger along one side of Ezra's jaw, before stroking her forehead horn with the other hand.

"Thank you," Ezra grins, before nearly skipping out after Korgha.

"There are days I wonder if that control chip works at all on her….." Geisha mutters, before turning her attention to Crystal. "And I would very much like to know why you have yet to awaken my pretty one. Perhaps your spider friend can shed some light on this," she says, tapping a finger against her pouting lips. Then she smiles, and adds, "Provided that Cyra has managed to properly mould her."

"Glad you guys could make it," Kaze says as she invites Meo, Des, and Lara into the house, and leads them out back where Jura, Kera and Sera await.

"Well, with your mysterious message, how could we refuse?" Meo returns.

"Yeah, it's not often you Mazingers invite people over," Des adds.

"Hey! Maizy invites Immomu, Nuri, and Zuki over all the time!" Kaze shoots back.

"Fine, you bigger Mazingers never have people over," Lara smirks.

"Then explain Kiryuu," Zoe counters, as the group walks past the living room, where Zoe and Kiryuu are keeping each other company on the couch.

"Face it you two, you've lost this argument," Meo tells her companions with a gentle smile that robs her comment of any venom it might have possessed.

"And after all, we did invite Jura to live here," Kaze adds, as they emerge into the back yard, and move over toward the large tree that the others are sitting under.

"Yeah, but I thought that was just so you could have wild sex whenever you wanted," Lara shoots back.

"I'd be insulted if that didn't happen so damn often!" Jura grins, earning laughs and smiles from everyone.

"So, back on topic. Why have you asked us all here?" Meo asks.

"I'd like to know that one myself," Jura adds.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Kera asks in shock.

"Figured what out?" Jura demands.

"Kaze's plan for the school fair," Sera answers.

"How do we figure into that?" Des demands.

"Well, the little sister network says that you three know how to play keyboard and drums," Kaze answers, pointing at the appropriate people when she names off instruments. "Added to the guitar, sax, and vocals, we already have, I plan to have the lot of us form a band to play for the fair."

"You want us to build a band?" Lara asks, shocked.

"This could be fun," Des grins. "What kind of music did you have in mind?"

"A bit of everything. At least one instrumental piece, a touch of American country music, some of our own pop, and a lot of good old fashioned Rock and Roll," Kaze answers.

"So what part would I have in all this?" Jura asks. "I can't play an instrument."

"Which is why you will be singing with Kaze," Sera answers.

"I'm supposed to sing?" Jura asks, shocked.

"Yup. I figure with a little practice you can shatter glass," Kera adds.

"Well she certainly has a good start on that, from what I hear out of that room on a semi-nightly basis," Maizy smirks as she drops down on the meeting, her flight pack retracting as her boots hit the ground.

This comment even gets a grin out of Meo, while Jura's blush burns hot enough to be visible against her dark skin.

"So what did you want sis?" Kaze asks her smaller sister.

"You did agree to listen to my suggestions, if I helped you figure out who else might be willing to get in on this little scheme of yours," Maizy returns.

"Well, DO we have a band?" Kaze asks, turning back to Meo, Des, and Lara.

"I'm not as good as Meo yet, but I'm willing," Lara answers.

"I'm in," Des grins.

"As am I," Meo adds. "I can't have both my student and my lover be involved in this without me, now can I?"

"Excellent!" Kaze grins, while the twins high five each other.

"You expect me to sing, on a stage, in front of the entire school?" Jura mumbles, looking shell shocked.

"Well, what have the lot of you decided on for songs, and other stuff?" Maizy asks, ignoring Jura's little problem.

"Not much of anything," Kaze answers. "I've got a few songs I really want to do, but there is plenty of room for everyone to add to the list."

"Do we have a name yet?" Lara asks.

"I have a suggestion for that," Maizy says.

"What you got, Maizy," Des asks, well aware of the smaller girls reputation for mayhem when she's been called a kid, or shrimp, or the little sister, or any other pet semi derogatory name.

"Well, it's a little off the wall, but given the fact that you have mech girls, and magic," Maizy begins. "I think you should go with _Technomancer_."

"You know, I like the sound of that," Sera says in surprise.

"As do I," Meo agrees.

"All those in favor?" Kera asks, looking back and forth over the group.

Everyone but Jura raises their hand, until Kaze grabs her sleeve and lifts.

"Looks like we have a name," Des grins.

"So now let's work out the song list," Lara grins.

"You expect me to sing in front of people…." Jura mumbles again.

"Hey! Wake up!" Kaze calls, snapping her fingers in front of Jura.

"How am I going to pull this one off?" she mutters, shaking her head before glaring at Kaze and snapping, "What?"

"We want you to help us pick songs," Sera tells her in a gentle voice.

"And after we have the songs, we will help you work on your stage fright," Meo tells her.

"I hope this works," Jura mutters, as Kaze lays out the songs she most wants to do, and asks the others to toss in suggestions.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into getting up in front of the entire school, and singing," Jura mutters again, as she and Kaze get ready for bed.

"It _was_ your idea that we do something for the fair," Kaze reminds her.

"I figured we would do some silly carnival stall or something!" Jura retorts.

"That's what you get for not giving me anything to work with other than, "we should do something for the fair." ," Kaze shoots back.

"So this is all my fault?" Jura moans.

"Well, I'll take a little blame, since I knew that you would most likely not want to sing," Kaze tells her. "But since I'll be right there with you, and our friends will be backing us up, I thought you would be able to handle it."

"I don't know if I can do this," Jura admits. "And I wasn't much help in picking out songs either. Other than an inspiration that is."

Kaze snorts on a laugh, before grinning and adding, "Yeah, I think me singing "Chrome" while referring to you as the girl in the song is going to be a riot."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Jura growls, throwing a pillow at Kaze.

"Relax, pointy ears. Tell you what, you sleep on this, and if you still think you can't do it, then I'll do the singing solo, and we will find some other way for you to help. Deal?" Kaze says, in a gentle voice, trying to calm Jura down enough that she will be able to sleep.

"All right. But the next time you blind side me with something like this, I'm going to get even by saying that thing that starts with an "S" and making you do whatever I want," Jura returns, a defiant gleam in her eye.

"If not for the fact that I'm sure the bastard put in a command that won't let us hurt him, I'd kill him for all the trouble his programming causes me," Kaze grumbles as Jura snuggles up against her.

"Nothing to keep me from slow roasting his butt for you," Jura grins up at her silver lover.

"Now that is a thought that makes for a pleasant dream," Kaze grins, before reaching over and killing the light so Jura can sleep.

"Kumi? Kumi, can you hear me?" Geisha asks.

"Yes….Mistress….." Kumi answers, her voice a dull monotone.

"This is the best you could do? After an entire day to work on her?" Geisha demands, turning to Cyra for an explanation.

"Her will is amazingly strong," Cyra answers. "As is her devotion to the blue one. The best I was able to do is get her to this state where she is able to answer our questions without any hesitation. To make matters worse, we won't be able to continue to use the drugs on her indefinitely without causing damage to her body, her mind, or both. At least that is the doctor's pronouncement. And given that you wish to enslave them, that _is_ counterproductive, correct?"

"That is most vexing," Geisha agrees. "Have any other methods of programming showed any alternatives that are worth investigating?"

"Only one, and the information was provided by Spyra," Cyra answers. "It seems that our little yellow friend here is quite a bit more sexually active than her partner is. It might be possible for me to combine the drugs, the sonic lure, and some mind blowing sex into something that will allow us to place commands in her mind that she will obey without question after the drugs wear off."

"Chances for success?" Geisha demands.

"Fifty/fifty at best. At least until we know more about her," Cyra answers.

"You may try, but for now, her willingness to answer questions is sufficient for my purposes," Geisha allows. Turning back to Kumi, she says, "Kumi? Crystal still hasn't woken up from when you arrived here. Do you know what might be wrong with her?"

"Last fight….magic…drained all her energy," Kumi mumbles. "When she could move…..said her powers where gone."

"That was one of the reasons Spyra felt it was the best time to strike and capture the pair of them," Cyra adds, confirming the story.

Geisha simply nods, before asking, "What can we do to give her enough energy to wake her up, but not enough that she is able to break free?"

"Crystal …absorbs…radiation…from space. She …. makes….. crystals that….. collect it….. for her. When she… needs to feed… she absorbs….. the energy from them," Kumi answers.

"Where are we going to get such crystals, if she isn't awake to create them?" Geisha mutters in disgust.

"She… has several… in our…. dorm room. In the….. flower pots," Kumi answers.

Geisha and Cyra look at each other in stunned shock for a moment.

"It can't be that simple," Cyra says.

"Tell Spyra to bring them back anyway. I want her awake, so I can start testing her limits. I knew that she could absorb ambient radiation, she is part Godzilla after all. That was why I had her placed in that shielded cell. But this is going to make a far better method of keeping her healthy enough to be useful. Once we have her awake, we can have her make more crystals that we can take outside her cell and charge, so we can continue to feed her," Geisha orders.

"Yes Ma'am," Cyra answers.

"Now then my oh, so helpful little spider, please tell me the best ways to stimulate your lovers body," Geisha whispers in Kumi's ear after Cyra leaves. "I want to know how to make her howl in pleasure, and beg for more."

"Oh, what now?" Jura moans, as she once again finds herself floating in the void of the dream realm.

"Now, It's time we had a talk little one," a deep male voice answers her as she is suddenly on her feet, and surrounded by what can only be described as a throne room.

"Who are you, and why have you called me here?" she demands, looking around the huge chamber for the speaker.

"You have no idea how glad I was when you finally put those shit heads who had stolen you, then raised you as a lab animal, in their place," the man says as he sits up from his spot on the enormous throne. Standing up, he then jumps off the seat, flipping twice before landing within reach of Jura.

"You still haven't answered my questions," she reminds him, crossing her arms under her breasts and taking a step back from him.

"You're better, but you are still a long way from where one of my children should be," he tells her with a smirk, crossing his own arms over his chest and looking down at her from his impressive height.

"How can you claim to be my father!" Jura demands, her voice nearly shrieking in outrage.

"Child, I don't share blood with you," the man answers. "I share _spirit._ Years before you were born, a magic spell was worked that sent the true rulers of your world into the deepest of sleeps, and splintered their spirits. In the years since, those splinters have started bonding with children as they grow within their mother's belly's. For some odd reason, they seem to mostly choose girls, but I never really cared about the why's and what fore's."

"How do you share spirit with me? If your story is true, then all those who received those "splinters" are girls," Jura shoots back.

"Splinters have to come from a tree. It's a law of nature," the man smirks back.

Jura remains silent as she just stares at him, memorizing everything she can about him, from his long black hair, to his combat boots. Taking in his leather jacket, jeans, and t-shirt, she finally asks, "Why do you look like an American?"

"Actually child, you chose this form for me, or rather your subconscious did. So I guess the question would be, why do you think of me as an American? What is an American anyway?" the man returns, his face becoming puzzled with his last comment.

"How old are you?" Jura asks.

"As old as the planet. While that spoony moth kept herself busy with defending the humans, once they evolved, and the other living things of the world, I saw to making sure that this world remained mine, and free of outside interference. I've allowed some other creatures to live, but others have come from far away, and have paid the price for thinking that they could simply stake their claim to what is mine," the man answers. "Unfortunately, thanks to the humans tendency to get into things they shouldn't, several additional creatures had been created, due to their tampering with the basic elements of life, and applying what they had discovered to the flesh that they had managed to collect after one of my avatars "visits". I believe that your people call these creatures Space Godzilla, and Biollante. "

"You know Mothra?" Jura blurts out in shock, most of the rest of his comments going over her head.

"Heh, you might say that. Actually it's her fault that I was able to contact you," he admits.

"How?" Jura asks.

"When she gave you that warning, and showed you what could happen, she "left the door open" for any of the rest of us that are like this to contact you as well," he explains. "Most of my children can't hear me, but on the other hand, most of them embrace what their splinter gives them, and are confident enough in themselves that their own personalities drown out anything I could add."

"So how am I different?" Jura asks, warming up slowly toward the stranger.

"Well for starters, you were stolen from your parents shortly after you were born, and taken by those bastards that you squashed flat when you broke free of them," he answers. "And I have to admit, even I was a bit surprised to find one of you little ones who was able to stand shoulder to shoulder with us ancients."

"I turned into a monster that night," Jura mutters, disgusted over all the lives she inadvertently took when she escaped the lab.

"Child, you where tortured for most of your life, and you finally fought back. You may regret that they died, but I say the bastards had it coming! For the first time in your life, you had embraced what you are, and used it to set yourself free," he tells her. "But that is the reason that I summoned you here. You need to be careful when you do that. If you lose yourself when you are like that, you will become a _true_ monster, and as unstoppable as that which you resemble."

"You mean to tell me that if I use that particular ability, I run the chance of becoming as bad as Godzilla himself?" Jura demands in wide eyed shock.

"I wasn't bad. I just didn't give a damn about the humans," the man returns with a smirk.

"You?...You are the spirit of Gojira?" Jura asks in a shocked whisper.

"Yes child, and I've been here as long as the planet has had things living on it, just as Mothra has. Down over the years, I have had many avatars that I've used, even going so far as to copy Mothra's form to create the beast Battra, with the last, and most powerful, being the beast that you know by the names Gojira, and Godzilla," he answers.

Looking into the mans eyes for the first time, Jura is surprised to see that they are the same honey brown as hers, and much like when she loses it, his have flames literally dancing within them.

"How do you stand it? Being so powerful?" she asks in a small voice.

"Child, it turns you into a rampaging beast," he answers, all pretence of joviality forgotten. "The main advantage you have over the beasts that I used for my avatars, is that you have a brain that is capable of more than being pissed off when things invade your territory. I'm pretty sure the bug already told you this, but I'm going to anyway. Your powers and abilities, even that one that scares the crap out of you, are not good _or_ bad. It's all in how you use them. Just remember, that while giving in to the beast within can help get you through some difficult situations, losing yourself in the rush of power will most likely result in you destroying that which you hold dear. By all means, _use_ your powers if you need to, for you should never be afraid of who and what you are, but don't let your powers use _you."_

"Gojira, what little I know about you always paints you as a nearly unstoppable force of nature. How are you able to be so calm, and why do you appear to me as a human?" Jura asks him.

"For the most part, my spirit has been separated from the sleeping form of my avatar by a spell, to keep the beast from running amok. I blame that sneaky sea snake of a guardian dragon for that. Make sure you ask your teacher how her giant pearl is. And as for my appearance," he says, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Until now, you haven't been ready to see me as I am in the waking world," he says, his voice remaining the same as his body grows, and bulks up, his tail and dorsal plates appearing. Suddenly, Jura finds herself floating near the beast's head, his eye bigger across than she is tall.

"My Godzilla," she whispers in awe, understanding for the first time what all those who have faced this beast in the past have felt in its presence.

"Remember my worlds little one, and take care. Good luck with changing the destiny that you have been shown," the man's voice says, as Jura begins to float away.

Once Jura is far enough away to see Godzilla's entire form, he lets loose a bellowing roar, that follows her all the way back to the waking world, where she finds it coming from her own mouth.

"Jura?" Kaze asks, shocked awake by her roar.

"These dream messages don't make for a very restful night," Jura offers with a sheepish smile.

"You had another one?" Kaze asks.

"Yes," Jura answers. "This one was a personal warning."

"About what?" Kaze demands.

"About losing control of my powers," she admits. "He told me that I shouldn't be afraid of my powers, or using them, as long as I make sure they don't use me."

"What does that mean?" Kaze asks, not really getting it.

"Trust me, if I ever need to take things that far, you will understand," Jura tells her with a weary sigh. She leans back, and is asleep before she even realizes it.

"Kumi? Do you have a moment?" Mandy asks as she finds the spider girl leaving her dorm room.

"Not really," she answers, carefully slinging a back pack over her shoulder.

"Crystal has been noticeably absent the last few days, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with her that could be linked back to her fight with Leona," Mandy tells her, hoping that the spider girl will talk to her enough that she can get some answers.

"Crystal left for a few days, and I don't expect her back until this weekend," Kumi tells her. "She felt humiliated by that little bitch, and left to get herself back together, once she could move under her own power that is."

"Do you know where she is? I'd really like to speak to her," Mandy asks.

"She hasn't informed me. Once a day she calls me to let me know she's alright, and that's about all I know about her whereabouts," Kumi tells her.

"That doesn't sound like her at all," Mandy mutters, stroking her chin as she thinks over the information.

"If you will excuse me, I have an appointment I'd rather not be late for," Kumi tells her, her tone making it clear that any attempts to gather further information will be ignored.

"Next time she contacts you, please let her know that we are worried about her?" Mandy asks as Kumi brushes past her.

"As you wish, but don't expect to hear from her unless she wants to talk to you," Kumi tosses back over her shoulder, before turning the corner and heading for the dorms exit.

"That will be fine," Mandy mutters, disturbed by Kumi's behavior, but unable to figure out why.

"Hmm. You and the alien bitch are going to be problems, I can see that already," Spyra growls under her breath as she leaves the dorm building and heads for town. "But first things first. I need to get these to the Mistress as quickly as I can," she adds, gently patting the backpack, and the crystals contained within.

"You two are going to be late!" Zoe bellows up the stairs, her voice loud enough to rattle the windows.

"Tone it down some, would you?" Maizy grumbles, moving down the stairs. "At least show me enough respect to go up to their room and yell at them. It's not fair to keep getting me up when you yell at them."

"Sorry. But you don't need to sleep until noon either," Zoe shoots back.

"Who said I wanted to?" Maizy growls. "I'd just like to wake up on my own again, rather than have someone's yelling waking me up all the time. And last night's little sound effect was a new one. Wonder what Kaze did to her to get _that_ out of her."

"I didn't get back till late, so what are you talking about?" Zoe asks as Maizy moves past her toward the kitchen.

"Jura, roaring loud enough to make _me_ jump out of bed and check the window to see if the house was about to be stepped on," Maizy mutters. "I swear, it sounded _just_ like the sound files we have in the Kaiju database. Nice job on getting us a copy of those rather highly classified files," she adds with a smirk.

"I still have people willing to do me a favor or two," Zoe smirks back, as she grabs a bowl for Maizy while the little red head hops up and snatches a cereal box off the top of the fridge.

"Thanks," Maizy says, grabbing the offered bowl, and pouring some of the cereal in, before returning the box to its place.

"So, do you know exactly what those two and their friends are up to? Kaze is playing things close to the chest, and Jura just kind of freezes up when you ask her about it," Zoe asks.

"They are planning to put together a band for the school fair," Maizy answers, having poured milk on her food, and starting to eat.

"Jura, part of a band? In front of _that_ many people?" Zoe returns in shock. "Did Kaze flip her chips?"

"They'll work it out. Kaze has actually shown a fairly good grasp of what they will need to pull this off," Maizy answers.

""Hit it first, and sort out the medical bills later," Kaze? Our sister is actually planning ahead for something? It's the end of the world," Zoe deadpans.

"What do you mean you're not going to classes today?" Kaze demands, hands on her hips, and towering over Jura.

"I would have thought the statement was self explanatory," Jura returns, her tone saying volumes about what she thinks about Kaze's tone.

"I'm sorry, but with all the weird stuff that's been going on with you, I worry, ya know?" Kaze tells her, in a much softer tone. "And to be honest, these "visitation" dreams that you have been having are freaking me the hell out."

"Join the club," Jura chuckles, giving her lover a hug. "But it's nothing like that. I just want to get some practice on the songs we have settled on, and see if there are any that _I_ want to add to our play list."

"So you are going to go through with it?" Kaze asks with a relieved grin.

"I'm going to give it my best shot. I may not particularly _like_ being the center of attention, but I can't live in fear of it either," she answers.

"That's my girl," Kaze smiles at her, before kissing the top of her head.

"Get my homework for me, will you?" Jura asks as she grabs some comfortably baggy clothes for working around the house, and her MP3 player. "You did load the bands song list into this thing for me, didn't you?"

"Crap! I knew I was forgetting something," Kaze answers, as she plucks the little device out of Jura's hand. It only takes her a moment to send over the files to the machine, before handing it back. "The play list is "_Technomancer: Live!"_ Good luck."

"I think I can handle learning the words and timing. It's the _performing_ part of this little project that I'm not so sure about yet," is Jura's answer, as she leaves the room to go find a room far enough from the other occupied rooms of the house that the band can practice without completely annoying the rest of the residents.

"I love you, pointy ears," Kaze says to her back as her tail vanishes around the corner and out of sight.

Maizy leans against the door frame and grins as she watches Jura lose herself in the music, dancing and singing to her headphones. Jura just finishes up singing along to "Hurricane Tonight" when Maizy lets out a shrill whistle that can penetrate the music being dumped directly into Jura's ears.

"Jeez! Are you trying to scare me to death?" Jura squawks, a hand on her chest as she pulls off her headphones.

"Sorry," Maizy grins. "But I thought you might want to know that you have some fairly stiff competition for Fair night. The Y.O.G. trio are planning to perform as well."

"Well, crap," Jura mutters, sinking down to sit on the floor of the mostly empty room. "How are we, a bunch of amateurs, going to be able to compete with a _real_ band like them?"

"Well, for starters, you guys are only going to have one or two songs that are their style of music, right?" Maizy asks. When Jura nods, she continues, "Then you guys will just have to make sure that the rest of the show is something that those three can't touch."

"But how do we do that? They are an established group, have a real backup band, special effects, the whole deal! We can't match that…." Jura rants, trailing off as something sparks in her memory.

"Can they do magic? Can you guys have Meo do anything flashy?" Maizy asks.

"I don't think so. Meo has to concentrate on her spells in order to use them, and that would be counterproductive to her playing," Jura answers, a sly look forming on her face.

"You have an idea," Maizy states.

"Yes I do. I have an idea for some special effects that they can't touch, and maybe a way to make sure I can handle being on stage at the same time," Jura answers her.

"So? Don't keep me in suspense! Spill!" Maizy orders.

"First I want you to call Kaze. I need to know Leona's address, so I can go ask her if she will help," Jura says.

"You want help from the one who was able to turn Crystal into a statue? I know I suggested magic, but isn't that a little over the top?" Maizy blurts out.

"She has a whole host of powers. I'm just hoping that some of them will be something that will help us put on a better show than the trio can," Jura retorts.

Maizy is silent for a few moments, before she says, "Kaze was just getting out of Mandy's class, so she asked her if she knew where Leona was staying."

"So? Did she get the address?" Jura demands.

Maizy pulls a pen from somewhere and writes the address on the back of Jura's hand, where the red ink glows like a golden sparkle when the light hits it right.

"How did you do that?" Jura asks, rotating her hand back and forth, marveling at how the ink is completely invisible against her skin unless the light strikes it just right.

"Just something I happened across while I was bored one day a while back," the little cyber doll answers with a smirk. "But I do think you should put some real clothes on before you try to go visiting."

"Ewe. Good point," Jura agrees, after looking down at her current outfit.

"I'm spoiled," Jura mutters to herself as she finally arrives outside of the building where Leona and Cole are staying. "I'm way too used to Kaze flying me around. It took me two hours to get over here. Hell, schools out by now!" she adds as she enters the building and looks for the proper apartment.

"God, I hope we figure out what we are supposed to be doing in this world soon. Before I give in to the urge to knock some sense into a few of those kids," Cole mutters as he appears in the main room of the apartment. Moving to the bedroom, he smirks at the muffled squeaks of laughter that he can hear before he opens the door.

Tied to the bed, Leona twists back and forth as she is tortured by three feathers that move back and forth over her body, tickling her unmercifully.

Cole collects the feathers and places them back into a small wooden case, that just vanishes as he turns back to his captive. "So, have you learned that turning people into statues just to make a point won't be tolerated?" he asks as he pops the enchanted gag from her mouth.

"I…..have been…..Beaten….Raped…Whipped…and put under mind control…and THAT is still the cruelest torture that I've ever been on the receiving end of," she gasps, sweat glistening on her body.

"You haven't answered my question," Cole reminds her in a gentle voice.

"You win. I'll play nice, even with the ones who want to smear me across the lawn," she answers.

"Good," Cole tells her, un-knotting the ropes around her ankles.

"_But_," she adds, "I want you to let me stay at full power. I promise that I won't do anything like that last trick, but some of them are dangerous enough that I will need the extra kick to keep myself in one piece."

"I'm going to hold you to that vow," Cole tells her, as he starts on her wrists.

A knock at the outer door interrupts him after he gets her left hand free.

"Looks like you'll have to finish releasing yourself, while I go see who's at the door," he tells her, making sure to close the door behind him.

"Never fails. As soon as we get ready for some fun, something happens," she scowls as she works on the bindings for her right wrist with her left hand and teeth.

"_I hope she's willing to help us" _Jura thinks, as she waits for Leona to open the door.

"Well, isn't this a surprise. I wasn't expecting work to follow me home," Cole smirks after opening the door and finding Jura standing there.

"Oh, I was looking for Leona," Jura tells him, a bit surprised to find Cole.

"_Make yourself presentable, you have company,"_ Cole thinks to Leona. Then he steps aside, saying, "C'mon in. She will be out in a few."

"Alright," Jura answers shyly, carefully moving past him into the small apartment. Moving away from him, she asks, "How long have you known each other?"

"It seems like forever," Cole answers in a wistful tone. "But I guess it's only been a couple of years, real time. It gets a little confusing, since time doesn't run at the same speed from realm to realm."

"What do you mean?" Jura asks, completely lost at how time can "run differently" than she is aware of.

"Look at it like this," Cole says, attempting to explain in the simplest terms he can. "We will use this world as a guide. Now, if we where to jump to another world, it is possible that while it would feel like time was moving normally to us while we where there, and say we where there for a week, when we jumped back, it's possible that only a few seconds, or more than a year, could have passed in _this_ world."

"That is…wow. How can you keep things straight when you jump like that? And how often _do_ you change worlds?" Jura asks, amazed that they haven't gone nuts from that kind of thing.

"As often as the portals open in front of us," Leona answers, stepping out of the bedroom, dressed in a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt.

"What happened to you? You look like a human again!" Jura blurts out.

"I _am_ a human," Leona answers with a scowl. "The wings, horns, and tail are part of what I call my Dragon Armor. The teachers asked that I stay that way during classes."

"Well, it did let you fit in with us a little better," Jura admits. "And none of us really recognized you when you joined the class."

"Well, enough of the small talk," Leona cuts off any further questions from the godzilla girl. "What brings you to find us?"

"Um, I didn't come looking for you both," Jura admits. "Just you, Leona."

"So what do you want?" she returns.

"Your help. Can you use your magic to make people see things that are not real?" Jura asks.

"You mean like this?" Leona asks, as duplicate Jura's appear on either side of her.

Jura's eyes nearly bug out of her head as she stares at her duplicates. "That is _amazing!_" she finally says.

"Actually, that is incredibly simple," Leona returns. "What I did to Crystal, that was much more difficult to pull off."

"And if you ever do it again, I'll make sure that you don't _ever_ forget what happens when you break a promise," Cole reminds her.

"….Do I even _want_ to ask what's been going on with you for the last week?" Jura asks.

"I've been a little tied up," Leona returns, causing Cole to nearly choke while trying to keep from laughing.

"Well, I came to ask if you would be willing to use your powers to help us out with our project for the school fair next month," Jura admits.

"What are you planning?" Cole asks.

"Kaze, Kera, Sera, Des, Meo, Lara, and I are going to be putting on a concert," Jura tells them. "But I just found out that another group has the same plan, and they are a _real_ singing group. If we don't want to come off like a bunch of wannabes, we need something that will make us even more memorable than the Y.O.G. trio is."

"So you want me to throw around illusions, while the rest of you play and sing?" Leona asks.

"Exactly. With those kinds of special effects, this will be one fair that the school won't soon forget," Jura smiles.

"She'll do it," Cole says.

"Don't I get a say in the matter?" Leona snarls at him.

"Actually, no, you don't. I'm forgoing the last two days of your punishment for the Crystal incident, in exchange for you helping …..what is the name of your band?" Cole asks.

Jura offers a wry smile, before answering, "Kaze's sister came up with our name, actually. Since we have both mecha girls, and now _two_ magic users with Leona, she came up with _Technomancer_ as our name, and the others all liked the sound of it."

"And what kind of music are you planning on?" Cole asks.

"Here. There might be a few new additions, but this is the bulk of what we've decided on so far," Jura answers him, handing over her music player.

"Oh, this is going to be _good_," Cole grins as he scrolls through the music list.

Leona shoots him a scowl, and he winces as she lays into him through their link. He hands Jura's player back to her while he reasons with Leona, all without saying a word out loud.

"Alright, I'll help you. It does sound like fun," Leona finally tells her. "When, and where do you guys usually meet to practice?"

"At the Nagai Mansion. That's where the Mazinger sisters and I live," Jura answers. "If you can fly us there, we should arrive just after the others do."

"I take it I have your permission to go?" Leona shoots at Cole, her look telling him that she's not done with him over this yet.

"Go for it. I'm really looking forward to what the lot of you come up with on this," he answers.

"I have one more…..personal….request," Jura admits, blushing hard enough that they can see it against her dark hide. "The idea of being up in front of all those people freaks me out. Can you put a spell on me or something so that it won't bother me?"

"I think I can help you out with that," Leona grins, as she holds out a hand. At first, nothing is happening, then, a glow starts to form in her palm. Next it brightens for several seconds, before fading away, revealing the new object in her hand.

"What is that?" Jura asks, stunned at how Leona just _creates_ things out of nothing more than her will, and the energies she wields.

"Nothing much, just a little trinket that will help you face your fears when you wear it," Leona answers. "Now, give me your arm."

"_This is a bad idea,"_ Cole thinks at her as she slides the silver onto Jura's arm, and up past her elbow, resting it between her bicep and her shoulder.

"_Relax,"_ she sends back. _"The only enchantment on this is a little something to make it resize itself so that it will always fit. The only magic it has for doing what she wants it to, is her belief that it does it."_

"So this will help me with my stage fright?" Jura asks. "I don't feel any different."

"Good, otherwise it would mean that I did something wrong when I created it," Leona tells her. "Just wear that, and trust in it, and you will be fine. It only works if you believe in it. And even then, only for you performing in public. I refuse to make something that will give you courage, without any rules, because if you don't have _any_ fear, then you are stupid, and end up getting yourself, and others hurt."

"Oh, believe me, I've got more than my fair share of things to be afraid of," Jura returns, thinking about what the spirits of the great monsters have passed on to her in her dreams.

"Then the both of you had better get going, before the others decide that you won't be joining them," Cole says. "I need to go back to the school anyway. Kim and Sora are expecting me to show them some of the more advanced things I can do."

"Right," Leona says, as she lifts herself and Jura into the air with a thought.

In the space between heartbeats, Cole is just _gone._

"How does he _do_ that?" Jura asks, as they float out the doors to the tiny balcony.

"I really don't know," Leona admits. "But it makes him one hell of a hard target to hit in a fight."

"No doubt," Jura agrees, as Leona lifts the both of them high enough that all the nearby buildings are at least twenty feet below them.

"Which way?" Leona asks.

Jura points in the direction of her home, and Leona puts them in motion, making the trip that took Jura two hours, in under five minutes.

"I expect good news," Red Geisha growls as she enters Cyra's "work room".

"Then I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed, Mistress," Cyra answers her. "Kumi is still showing remarkable willpower against any programming method I can devise. The only new bit of data I have managed is to discover she is deathly afraid of fire. I can no longer safely use the drugs, without them causing her heart to over exert itself and explode. I…..I'm sorry, my Mistress, but I have failed you on this."

"Yes you have," Geisha returns darkly. Cyra drops to her knees, waiting for her punishment, when she adds, "But not through lack of effort on your part. I believe we need to fall back on a slightly _less_ advanced way of breaking past her stubborn devotion to her lover."

"How?" Cyra wonders aloud.

"First, we go visit Crystal, and record a nice long interview with her. Then we will see how things go from there," Geisha informs her, leading the way out of the chamber, leaving Kumi's unconscious form tied to the bed.

"Hrrrrrrrr…..Oh, My head. Kumi," Crystal mutters as she comes around, only to come up short as she tries to move and discovers her restraints. "What the fuck is going on here," she snarls, her eyes snapping open.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Geisha smiles at her as she backs away, a depleted crystal in her hand.

"Where am I, how did you get one of my energy crystals, why am I tied up, and where is Kumi?" Crystal demands. "You can answer in any order you wish," she adds, while she takes stock of herself. "_Not good. Still weak, and my powers are still nearly gone," _she thinks.

"Oh, the spider was right, she _will_ be fun to play with!" Geisha grins at Cyra.

"Indeed," the cybernetic Dragon agrees with a smirk.

"Oh, I owe you," Crystal snarls at Cyra. "_No one_ sucker punches me and gets away with it."

"And how exactly do you plan to do anything about it?" Geisha asks. "It's not like you can just step over here and pay her back, now is it?"

"What have you tin terrors done with Kumi?" Crystal demands.

"Oh, she's around here somewhere. Who do you think supplied the crystal we used to revive you?" Cyra grins.

"You bitch, what have you done with her?" Crystal roars, as she struggles to stand up from her chair.

The electrical discharge from the chair, and the mesh covering her head whiplashes her back and forth in her restraints until the current is shut off.

"I would suggest you refrain from attempting to fight your way free of that bit of furniture," Geisha smirks. "Any attempts to use your mental powers, or your strength, will result in another dose like that."

Once her muscles quit spasming, Crystal growls, "I'm going to get out of here, I'm going to find Kumi, and I'm going to take _great_ pleasure in ripping you apart, one circuit at a time."

"Bold words, from someone who couldn't even put up a fight when I knocked her out with a single, half hearted, punch," Cyra taunts.

"And all over her pet spider," Geisha adds.

"Kumi isn't a pet, you tin platted bitch. And she would _never_ betray me, any more than I would her," Crystal snarls, her anger only partially real, as she realizes that in addition to shocking her into helplessness again, their little trick _added_ energy to her reserves.

"Perhaps you should turn around and take a look at what we have to show you?" Geisha suggests, before the chair slowly begins to rotate, so that Crystal is facing a monitor screen imbedded in the wall.

"What, you Mazinger wannabes planning to torture me with your home made porno films?" Crystal smirks.

At least until the picture becomes clear, showing Kumi telling them anything they ever wanted to know about her.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?" Crystal demands, her voice gone deadly calm.

"Nothing much. A few drugs, some mind blowing sex, and knowing all the best places to rub that tight furry body of hers," Cyra laughs. "Since you _claim_ to love her, you really should take better care of her needs. She was practically begging me to fuck her brains out, once we strapped her down the first time."

"I am going to kill you all," Crystal tells them. "I am going to make it my life's mission to see to it that you, you silver skinned bitch, and your little gold flunky are disassembled, and whatever parts I don't slag in the process get used to make a _fucking toaster!"_

"I think she needs some time to herself," Geisha tells Cyra with a laugh as she heads for the door.

"Didn't you have one more thing you wanted to do?" Cyra asks, before Geisha can activate the controls for the door.

"Oh, right," she agrees, sending a signal to the chair.

Crystal screams, arching her back as both lower openings of her body are violated by the chairs built in equipment.

While she sits there panting, Geisha adds, "In a few moments, they will start up, and help you relax into your new life. But I will warn you now, if you try to use your powers, the shocks will be sent through those as well. Since nothing in the file we have on you indicates you enjoy that kind of thing, I would suggest you behave."

Then the two cyber beings leave, sealing Crystal within the shielded observation chamber once again.

"Did you get everything you needed?" Geisha asks, as they head deeper into their makeshift base.

"Oh yes. Give me a few moments with a mixing board, and Kumi will believe that Crystal doesn't give a damn about her other than as an "asset" that she can use," Cyra answers her.

"Excellent. Once her will is broken, it should be a simple matter to make the programming stick. Then we can use her against Crystal," Geisha says, thinking out loud.

"The programming won't be quick," Cyra cautions. "It will take a minimum of a couple of weeks, once we convince her. And she is a particularly stubborn spider. I have no way of predicting at this time how long this may take."

"I understand. Just make it a quickly as possible," Geisha acknowledges. "You have until the end of the upcoming school fair that Spyra mentioned. I plan to begin "acquisition" of as many subjects as I can after that point in time."

"Yes Mistress," Cyra tells her with a deep bow, before rushing off to begin her work of twisting Crystal's words into a message of hate.

"You're _LIEING!_" Kumi shrieks, after viewing the pairs "interview" with Crystal, complete with the new audio track.

"Oh, no. As you can see, I was right there the entire time," Cyra smirks, as Kumi just seems to shrink in on herself.

After several minutes of nothing, Cyra asks, "Kumi? Would you be willing to co-operate with us?"

Kumi just continues to stare straight ahead, shiny streaks from her silent tears tracking down her face.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Cyra mutters, snapping her fingers in front of the spiders face, trying to get a reaction. When she still doesn't react, Cyra turns her scanners on her captive, and is relieved to find that she is still alive. "Well, shit. Looks like this plan worked a little too well," she mutters, preparing to go give Red Geisha the bad news.

"You guys sound great!" Maizy and crew cheer after watching Kaze and the others practice.

"I didn't recognize most of those songs," Nuri adds. "But I couldn't help wanting to dance along to them!"

"Sounds like we've got a bunch of winners then," Des grins, rapidly twirling the drum stick in her right hand as she stretches out her legs behind her drums.

"I think that the song, "The Right Kind of Wrong" fits you two perfectly," Immomu tells Meo and Des, earning a blush from her sister.

"So did we. That's why we added it to the play list," Kera grins.

"Would you like to see some of the other things we have in mind for the show?" Leona asks as she pushes away from the wall where she had been leaning while letting the music shape some ideas for special effects.

"Like what?" Zuki asks.

"Like this!" Leona tells her while whipping an arm out toward the older girls.

"Oh. My. God…." Nuri whispers as a bright flash fades from around the band members, leaving each of them radically changed.

Kaze, Lara and the twins have all been changed into humans, while Des, Meo and Jura have been changed into Mechanized versions of themselves.

"So what do you think?" Jura asks, as she turns around, her tail making a metallic scraping sound as she drags it across the floor.

"Do these illusions not make us live up to the bands name even more than before?" Meo asks, her gleaming silver white body setting off her brilliantly patterned wings.

"I think that without Leona's magic, the band wouldn't have a chance, despite how good we sound together," Des admits, her new robotic appearance by far the most fearsome of the bunch.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Leona returns, her own form having changed to appear as if she was a living ice sculpture.

"I wish I could duplicate however it is you do that," Maizy admits, no small trace of envy in her voice.

"Sorry short stuff, but I can't teach it to you," Leona tells the smaller cyber girl, while the members of the band revert to their normal forms.

"Don't call me that," Maizy growls.

"Can you teach us?" Zuki squeals.

"Sorry kiddo, but the only one of you who has the potential for magic is Immomu," Leona tells them. "And somehow I don't think her sisters would like it if I where to teach her most of the spells I know. You K-girls cause enough damage as it is, you don't need my magics to help make it worse."

"How much worse could your magics make things on this island?" Nuri asks.

"Nuri, my mother knows a spell that can destroy the world if something goes wrong when she casts it. Her trademark spell, and one I get a kick out of using as well, causes an explosion that can leave up to a half mile wide crater," Leona tells them.

"Whoa….." Lara says with a low whistle. "You may be even more destructive than _me_."

"Well, having never seen you in action, I can't say one way or the other," Leona tells her. "But I can definitely make a big mess when I need to get my point across."

"Regardless of who is the most destructive person in this room," Maizy smirks, "The facts remain that you guys sound great, and her magic effects will make you a massive hit at the fair."

"Now as long as the rest of the world agrees with your assessment," Sera says with a wry smile.

"She _what?_" Geisha snarls before blasting Cyra across the room with a Photon Beam.

"She…She's gone catatonic. The lights are on, but she's not home anymore," Cyra gasps, slowly struggling to her feet.

"Damnit all….." Geisha growls, starting to pace while she quickly sorts through options. "Recall Spyra. We will use her to try and get to Crystal."

"As you command," Cyra answers, before limping out the door.

"Perhaps I should have done more research on these girls before starting this operation," Geisha muses to herself. Shaking her head, she continues, "No matter. This operation will be completed within days now, and not even Zoe will be able to stand against me this time."

"So what are you planning for the last song?" Sera asks Leona as the group moves down the hall to their last class.

"That's the one based on this guy, right?" Leona returns, a small image appearing over her outstretched hand.

"Yeah, that's the one," Kera answers.

"A series illusions of the others, surrounding the concert, while he comes up behind the band. The others will bow their heads in respect, then he will yell just as the song finishes, with the others joining in, before they all transform into a golden mist and blow away," Leona tells them.

"The crowd is going to go _nuts_," Kaze grins.

"Just make sure that we warn people about everything being an illusion. The last thing we want to do is scare them all into stampeding for the exits," Jura reminds them.

"Point," Leona agrees.

"Is everyone on for practice today?" Kaze asks.

"Lara and the others didn't say anything about skipping out on us today," Kera answers.

"Good, cause we've only got two more days, before we do this for real," Sera adds, as the group arrives at their last class.

"And we are going to stand this school on its ear," Kaze declares with a huge grin as she enters the class, the others filing in behind her.

"You wanted to see me?" Kumi asks, once Red Geisha decides to acknowledge her presence.

"Yes, Spyra. I have need of you, and your disguise," Geisha tells her.

"Problems getting the original to play your game?" Spyra asks, twisting Kumi's features into a malicious smirk.

"We seem to have broken her," Geisha admits. "So we need you to play the spiders part while we work on her lover."

"Alright. It's getting tiresome fending off the pushier teachers who want to get in touch with Crystal," Spyra admits, dropping her use of Kumi's voice.

"I trust you've given them enough bullshit to keep them from realizing what we are up to, until it's too late?" Geisha asks, one eyebrow raised, and an evil smirk on her silver face.

"My sudden disappearance may raise a few flags, but I doubt that they will figure anything out until after the strike teams start collecting them," Spyra answers. "Oh, and here are the Children. Several of them seem to be friendly with the Mazinger prototype unit."

"Excellent work, as usual," Geisha grins, quickly reviewing the files on Maizy's friends, and the other K-juniors who have been identified.

"So what am I supposed to do with her?" Spyra asks, calling up an image on a wall screen, displaying Crystal still trapped in her chair.

"Play it by ear. I want you to make it seem that Kumi is now a loyal member of the RBA. Other than that, it is up to you," Geisha tells her.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Spyra announces, returning to using Kumi's voice.

"Don't fail on this. I'm already more than a little annoyed at Cyra's failure," Geisha warns her.

"Just give me a day or so to catch up on what you've been up to with her, and I will see what I can do. Oh, I'll need a uniform. One tailored to be as sexy as possible," Spyra answers. "Kumi wouldn't wear anything less."

"I'll have it started while you collect your data. You can have it fitted while you review," Geisha answers with a nod, sending the orders out.

"Are we all set for the fair?" Maizy asks her friends, as they listen to the muted thunder of the older girls rocking out in their "studio" upstairs.

"Gigi lady says I can go with you, as long as we promise to stay out of trouble!" Zuki cheers.

"My sister gave me the okay to join you guys too," Nuri adds.

"Mina said it was alright, as long as we didn't miss Meo, and the others, playing," Immomu tells them.

"Well, since I don't think Ghidra trusts the triplets that far, it looks like it will just be us as a group for the fair," Maizy tells them.

"What about Battamei, and Musume?" Nuri asks.

"Battamei is going with her sister," Immomu tells her.

"I think Gina and the rest of her crew are going to be showing Musume around," Maizy adds.

"Then it looks like we have our group. What's the plan?" Nuri asks.

"For starters, we'll check out the stalls and stuff that everyone else is going to be putting together for the fair, then we will enjoy the rocking sounds of _Technomancer_," Maizy answers, a wide grin on her face.

"So we all meet here, then head to the fair?" Immomu asks.

"Sounds like a plan," Nuri agrees.

"YAY!" Zuki cheers, flying around the room with a huge grin on her face.

"This is going to kick untold amounts of ass," Maizy smirks.

"So how do I look, Commander?" Spyra asks, still in her Kumi disguise, and wearing a Red Bamboo Army uniform that is more playmate costume than uniform.

"Hmmm, careful Spyra, or I may have to ravage you here and now, and to hell with Crystal," Geisha smiles.

"Be a shame to waste all this work though," Cyra adds from across the hall.

"True. Remain here Cyra, just in case. Spyra, Do what you can to rattle her self confidence, and certainty in her spider," Geisha orders. "I'm going hunting. Make sure the force field containment area is prepped and ready for my return. I plan to have several subjects to store in it for a while, until we can arrange more specialized containment for them."

"As you wish, Mistress," Cyra answers, dropping to one knee.

"And now, It's time for me to get to work," Spyra grins, Kumi's voice dripping with malice.

When Spyra opens the shielded door, the three of them hear Crystals' moans of pleasure.

"Do enjoy yourself, but be careful. She is more dangerous than she appears, I'm certain of it," Geisha says, before turning, and leaving the pair alone.

"Well, I see you've been enjoying your stay," Kumi smirks as she deactivates the vibrators that have been keeping Crystal too distracted to do much more than suffer under their erotic onslaught.

Crystal hangs limply from her restraints, panting, as she slowly recovers from what she's been going through.

"Here, drink," she says, putting a straw to Crystals lips.

Crystal greedily sucks the cup of water dry, then pants, "Get me out of this damn chair, and we can get the fuck out of this hellhole."

"Why would I want to leave?" Kumi returns with a grin, causing Crystal to snap her head up and stare at her.

"Have you lost your mind? They kidnapped us, and you're _joining_ them?" Crystal blurts out in shock.

"What can I say? After you said all those _nasty _things about me, and the _amazing_ sex, I just couldn't turn them down any more," she smirks.

"I never said anything bad about you," Crystal retorts. "I told them you would never betray me, and that they could go fuck themselves!"

"Really?" Kumi returns dryly. "Then how do you explain this?" she asks, as Crystals chair/prison turns to face the wall screen, and Cyra's doctored tape of their "interview" plays out, leaving Crystal slack jawed in shock.

"That is _not_ what I said when I woke up!" Crystal snarls in outrage.

"Why don't I believe you?" Kumi asks, moving up behind Crystal, and draping herself across the chair, but being careful to not touch the blue saurian.

"I have _never_ lied to you Kumi, why would you doubt me?" Crystal demands.

"Because I think being turned into a statue changed you more than you are willing to admit," Kumi retorts.

"Really," Crystal growls, becoming suspicious.

A quick flash of telekinesis causes Kumi to fumble for balance, and brush Crystal's right shoulder spire, before the resulting electric shock rips through her body.

"_That_ was a foolish thing to do," Kumi says while Crystal screams in pain.

"Maybe….." Crystal gasps after the current is turned off again. "But then again, it worked just as I expected it to."

"You shove me off balance, and nearly get shocked into unconsciousness again, and you say it's all according to plan?" Kumi asks in disbelief.

"Drop the act, bitch. I know you're not Kumi," Crystal tells her.

"What makes you say that?" Kumi asks in surprise.

"The fact that you don't feel anything like her," Crystal snarls, her horn starting to glow as power arcs from her shoulder crystals to it in preparation for a corona beam.

The resulting shock lasts far longer than the previous ones.

"I'm going to leave you for a while to think about what you've done," Kumi tells her, reactivating the vibrators before leaving the shielded chamber.

"_That_ was entirely too close," Cyra tells her after the shielded room is resealed.

"No shit," Spyra snarls. "If the security program monitoring her was a half second slower, she would have broken out of there, likely slagging me in the fucking process!"

"Calm down. Give her a few hours to bounce on the toys, and try again," Cyra tells her. "With any luck, between the shocks and toys, she will either forget that she discovered you're a fake, or more likely, hang on to the hope that the next time you go in there, you will be the real one."

"I hope you're right about that. I hate to fail a mission," Spyra snarls.

"_Almost,"_ Crystal thinks as she lets the chair control her body. _"Almost have enough power now to break out. Just need a little more, then I can activate the crystals and leach the power systems of this place. That should give me enough power to level this dump, and find Kumi."_

The next day passes in a blur for everyone involved with the fair. The members of _Technomancer_ spend the first half of the day running through their performance, and helping Leona work out some last minute details on her illusions. Maizy and her friends spend the day bouncing around the stalls that the other students at DKH have set up, as well as spying around for anything that would help boost hits to Maizy's web site.

"Is everything in place?" Geisha demands.

"Yes, Commander," one of her human subordinates answers. "Several strike teams are ready to spring their traps, and your personal strike team is online and prepared to deploy at a moment's notice."

"And the children?" she asks.

"The group that we have been tracking is short several members, but the prototype Mazinger, and another three have been under observation since they met at the mansion. We can move on them at any time," the man answers.

"I'll be seeing to their collection _personally_," Geisha tells him, a self satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well, are we ready?" Leona asks, as they sit backstage, listening to the Y.O.G. trio singing their little idol hearts out.

"You know, I like almost all kinds of music, but that stuff is best taken in small doses," Kaze says, referring to the audio assault on her sensors.

"Yes, I think we are as ready as we are going to get," Jura answers Leona, giving her silver armband a rub for luck.

"I can't wait," Des grins, drumming on a table top with her hands.

"I'm with you," Lara agrees, adjusting the collar on her Chinese style dress.

Meo eyes her girlfriends leather pants, red tank top, and spike studded biker jacket, before giving her skirt and blouse a tug, saying, "I simply hope that this doesn't take too much out of us. I for one would like to celebrate a successful conclusion to this endeavor."

"An after concert party sounds good to me!" Kera agrees with a grin.

"Nah, I'd rather unwind after we're done," Sera disagrees. "I just can't see a party of any kind as a way to relax after what we are about to do."

Kaze grins at the metallic twins, and their identical but for color pant suits. "I swear, you two disagree on everything, just out of spite."

They give each other a serious look, before turning back to Kaze and saying, "Not on everything."

"Oh? Besides being friends with us, what else do you two actually agree on?" Jura asks.

"I think that this point will require a demonstration," Sera says, as the twins stand up and move toward Kaze and Jura.

"What do you two have in mind?" Kaze asks, as Kera stops over her, while Sera mirrors her sister over Jura.

"Oh, nothing much," they say in unison, as they both take a seat in the lap of the one they are standing over, and proceed to kiss them deeply.

Kaze and Jura both go wide eyed in surprise, staring at each other, before giving each other a nod, and returning the twins kiss.

"Daaammmn," Lara says as she leans back in her chair.

"Give you any ideas for later?" Des asks Meo, getting the moth girl to blush in response.

"About this time, I'd offer to throw ice cold water on them, but Jura would be the only one to really be effected by it. And they would then need new outfits," Leona smirks, her words functioning much like what she suggests.

"And just how long have you two been hiding these feelings?" Kaze smirks, as Kera leans back from her with a goofy grin on her face.

"Since we first met the two of you," Sera answers, finally giving Jura a chance to get some much needed air.

"Then why haven't you said anything before now?" Jura blurts out, once she has caught her breath.

"Oh, c'mon! Like we would take a chance of messing up our friendship? We'd still be keeping it a secret, if you hadn't given us that opening," Kera tells them.

Kaze and Jura just look back and forth between themselves and the twins for a few moments. Kaze is about to say something, when Leona breaks in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but from the sound of things, the trio is finishing up," she says, altering her clothes from a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, to black leather hip huggers, and a silver lame top. "So now," she grins, "It's _SHOWTIME!_"

"We will talk more about this later," Kaze tells the twins, while Jura just nods in agreement.

"Good, 'cause like the magic girl said, it's time to get this show on the road!" Des says, so full of excitement that she raises her fist as she finishes her comment and leads the way out of the room they have been using to wait in.

"So how do you think these guys will do?" Angi-lass asks out loud as she and the rest of the crowd wait for _Technomancer_ to take the stage.

"Oh, I think they will surprise you," Zoe grins, as she and Kiryuu lean into each other, arms around each others back.

"But can they top the show that the trio just gave us?" Sora asks, Gigi nodding in agreement.

"I hope they are at least as good," Musume adds.

"Hope that whatever they have planned is something I can dance to," Titania tosses in, as they wait for the band to take the stage.

"Trust us. You are all going to _love_ this," Maizy says as she, Immomu, Nuri, and Zuki move through the crowd to stand near the older girls.

"I hope you are right. I'd hate to see them flop," Gina tells them, as the MC announces that the next show will begin in five minutes.

"Everyone ready?" Kaze asks into the mic/headset that everyone is wearing.

"One minute until we start," Leona answers.

"Ready to rock," Des answers.

"Good to go," Kera adds.

"Same here," Sera agrees.

"Let's do this," Lara answers.

"I am prepared," Meo tells them.

"Showtime," Jura announces, right before the MC announces that they are on.

The crowd goes silent as the Lights go out over the stage, and slowly come back up as the bands first selection begins, the drums and keyboards blasting out the opening, before the sax joins in, but the crowd starts to murmur when they notice that there is no one on stage yet.

(First Song: Invitation to the Charm of Darkness – Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors OST)

"_Time to kick things off,_" Leona grins, as she starts her part of the first act, illusions of the Mechanized Jura, Meo, and Des, along with a ice clone of herself floating down out of the sky, each of them carrying one of the humanized mecha girls in their arms. As they land, they stand the others back on their feet, then gather into a group, each of them with a hand stretched into the center. A glow starts with their hands, then steadily becomes incredibly bright as Lara's keyboard takes over with a portion of the track that sounds more like the brass section of an orchestra. Meo comes back in with her more conventional piano sounds as the glare vanishes, along with the illusionary forms of the girls. As soon as Sera's sax starts up once more, a series of smoke puffs go off around the stage, leaving a band member working their instruments over in its wake.

As the music wraps up, Kaze and Jura appear, and finally Leona, standing on a smaller stage above Des's drums.

"Hello, Neo Monster Island!" Kaze calls, both arms out stretched as she leans forward over the edge of the stage, while Jura waves at everyone.

"We hope you like what you've seen so far," Leona adds.

"And we promise, that this is just the start of what we hope to be a hell of a show for you all," Jura finishes.

"_SO LET'S DO THIS!_" they all call out together, to an answering roar from the crowd.

(Second Song: Pour Some Sugar On Me – Def Leppard: the Vault)

Kaze and Jura work together with the opening to the song, setting things up perfectly for the instrumental opening to follow. The pair continue to prance around, singing to each other as much as they are to the crowd, as Leona magically creates pyrotechnic effects in time to the music. With the lull in the lyrics appears, they stop and stand to either side of Kera, as she works over her guitar. Clowning around a bit they act like they are amazed at how she's making her fingers dance over the strings, then they return to singing, as the rest of the band offers backup vocals for them.

As the song ends, Kaze takes center stage, and motions for the cheering to settle down enough for her to be heard.

Once the crowd dies down enough for her to continue, she says, "Time to introduce everyone! For those of you who _don't_ know us, back on drums, we have the demon dragon herself, DES!"

A separate spotlight, kicks on, and pins Des in its glare as she stands up and waves, before taking her seat and setting off a little drum rif for the hell of it.

"Next, we have the first of our keyboardists. The Mothra Leo, MEO!" Kaze continues.

The spot moves from Des, to shine on her lover, who drags one hand up and down the keys, while waving to everyone with the other.

"Next up, we have her partner in crime and keyboards, the girl with more guns than even _she _knows about, the MEGAS herself, LARA!" Kaze adds.

Moving across the stage from Meo, the spot pins Lara in its glare as she points both arms up into an open part of the sky, and seemingly cuts loose with a massive number of energy blasts of various colors (all supplied by Leona's illusions).

Jura takes over with the next set of intro's.

"Making her guitar scream for mercy, and making the rest of you scream and cheer, we have KERA!" Jura announces, as the spot moves from one mecha girl to the next.

Kera gives a little rif of her own on her instrument, before she lets it hang from its strap and waves to the crowd.

"And since you can't have one without the other, over on sax, we have her twin, SERA!" Jura continues.

Once the spot finds her, Sera raises her instrument over her heads so that it's gleaming shape catches as much light as possible and throws it out toward the crowd as she waves.

"And next up, we have one of the most unpredictable girls around, The Silver Dragon herself, LEONA!" Jura finishes up her part of the introductions, as the spot moves to shine on Leona.

Leona decides to ad-lib a bit as she takes a few steps forward in her human form, before suddenly transforming to her more recognizable Dragon Armor.

Leona takes over from there, adding, "And last, but certainly not least, we have our singers! First, we have the mastermind of this little group here, the latest model of Mazinger, KAZE!"

Kaze hams it up a little, blowing kisses to the crowd, as she gives them a deep bow with her arms stretched out to her sides.

"And finally, we have one of those quite ones that you where always warned to keep an eye on, JURA!" Leona finishes up, as the spotlight jumps from Kaze to her dark skinned lover.

"And together," Des, Meo and Lara add.

"We Are," Kera and Sera pick up.

_"Technomancer!"_ they finish in unison, to the delighted roar of the crowd.

"I'll give them this," Gina says loud enough for those around her to hear. "They know how to work the crowd."

Everyone around her can't help but agree, as the opening notes of the next song start.

(Third Song: The Monster is Loose – Meatloaf: Bat Out of Hell III – The Monster is Loose)

The music begins slow, with Des working a heartbeat into the minor tones before the keyboards start working in earnest, and Kera gets things rolling. Surprisingly it's Jura who takes the solo to start this one off, the others joining in as backup on the chorus.

While the others do their thing, Leona adds to the mood and tone of the song by manipulating the lighting, making it almost murky, and offering up glowing eyes here and there around the stage and above the crowd.

Jura lowers her head as her solo section drops into an instrumental that dies down into a much slower pace, before she and Kaze pick up the next part as a duet, with the others backing them up on the later parts. When the pace picks up again, Jura leads, with Kaze and the others backing her up as they work through the final repetitions of the chorus.

The girls take a few moments to recover, before kicking into the next song.

(Forth Song: Right Kind of Wrong – LeAnn Rimes: Coyote Ugly OST)

The song starts off with a few simple notes, before things pick up, with both Jura and Kaze working the lyrics, with the others adding to the chorus for them.

In a change of pace, Leona causes illusions of Meo and Des to appear in front of the others as the song plays out, making them act out some of the song, with Meo standing alone later in the song, looking up as the lyrics seem to reflect how she's thinking, before Des reappears near her, and suddenly you can see that she's reached a decision and runs for the darker girl.

"Is everybody having fun?" Kaze calls out, while the others get themselves ready for the next song.

The crowds roar becomes near deafening as they answer, "YES"

"Then let's change the pace a little," she grins, as something a little slower starts to play.

(Fifth Song: How Do You Talk To An Angel? – The Heights)

The music is kicked off by Kera this time, as Kaze solo's the lyrics to start.

Leona keeps up her current theme of band members, as she show's an illusion of Kaze standing well below a version of Jura with a pair of angel wings sitting on a ledge above her.

When Sera and Kera take off with the instrumental part, the real Kaze shoots Jura a wide grins, before they all work the chorus into a slow die down of the music.

(Sixth Song: Trust – Vandread OST)

They don't wait long, before launching into the next number, with Kera leading the way while the keyboards back her up, before Kaze and Jura launch into the lyrics.

This song reminds several in the crowd of the Trio's music, although with a bit faster pace.

Jura and Kaze each step back to leave an un-obstructed view of the others as they handle the instrumental stretch in the center of the song, and again at the end when Kera gets a chance to rock out before the closing. While this is going on, Leona contents herself with simply shooting out colored lights at the crowd, saving the flashier effects for later in the show.

Giving everyone else a chance to catch their breath, Kaze works the crowd a bit more, "You all still havin' Fun?" she calls out, getting a thunderous agreement in return. "Great! This one is for all the lovers in the crowd, so enjoy!" she concludes as a slow orchestral build up signals the beginning of the next song.

(Seventh Song: I Don't Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith: Armageddon OST)

Kaze and Jura team up again to turn this into another duet, giving each other goo-goo eyes as they pour everything they have into this one. The crowd goes nearly silent as they work, shocked at the amount of emotion the girls are pouring out for them all. Several couples find themselves resting heads on the shoulders of their significant others, or pulling them into easy hugs as they slowly rock in time to the music. When the music finally dies, the crowd explodes into applause, taking several minutes to finally settle down enough for the girls to start the next number.

(Eighth Song: T.N.T – AC-DC: Live)

Des leads them off this time, with the others adding their voices to her drums and Kera's guitar. Kaze takes complete control of the vocals on this one, while Jura just moves with the beat, clapping her hands in time. Every time Kaze says "T.N.T." Leona sets off another illusionary explosion, and when she says, "Just watch me explode!" Leona follows through with one of them going off right under her feet, just to have her move through the flames and continue the song, until they get near the end, when Des and Kera go on an instrumental rampage, before cutting things off with a flourish.

(Ninth Song: Chrome – Trace Adkins: Greatest Hits)

Their next song starts off with Des, Meo, and Lara, and a distinct country music tone, as Meo and Lara adjust their keyboards to give them the instruments they will need for this one. Leona on the other hand, just grins and decides to add a few things to what they had all planned for this one. Once again, Kaze is in complete control on this one, while Jura blushes furiously while keeping time with the beat. As the song describes the woman in question, and her preferences, Leona tosses out illusions of Jura, Kaze and the twins, with the illusionary Jura completely captivated with the mecha girls shining skin. All of the girls can't help but grin like maniacs during this number, as they all join in with "Her favorite color is Chrome."

(Tenth Song: Heavy Metal (Taking A Ride) – Don Felder: Heavy Metal OST)

The slow build up on the next song gives Kaze a break for a few moments, before she and Jura need to begin, while the others get some mileage out of their instruments. Once their queue comes, it doesn't take long for them to start crooning the words, most of the focus for this song being the instruments, rather than the vocals. Leona keeps things low key on this one as well, mostly pinning several colored lights on Kera as she covers the involved guitar work the song requires.

(Eleventh Song: How Crazy Are You? – Meja: Dead Or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball)

Jura provides background vocals for this one while Kaze handles the lead, and the K-girls in the crowd cheer when Kaze alters the words slightly so that there is no mention of a man in the song. Leona, knowing where the song was pulled from, Throws out an illusionary four on four volleyball game with the band members as the song plays out.

(Twelfth Song: Kung Fu Fighting – Kung Fu Panda OST)

Leona grins as Kaze and Jura lead this one off, before the others join in with their instruments. As the music begins, she creates illusions of all the well known fighters from the school, and unleashes them on each other in a hand to hand free for all, Only to have them all stop and bow in respect as an illusion of Jackie Chan appears in time with his mention in the song, before they all go back at it, only for the lot of them to vanish as the song finishes.

(Thirteenth Song: Hurricane Tonight – Kinuko Ohmori: Bubblegum Crisis Complete Vocal Collection)

"That was AWSOME!" Sora cheers after watching herself fight along to the music on the last song.

"I think it's safe to say that the Trio have officially been blown out of the water tonight," Gina agrees.

"Kim wants to know why Teacher not on stage with rest of us for that fight," the boy asks, dropping his head to rest it on Gina's shoulder from behind, while she and Anji lean into each other from the side.

"Don't worry about it, and just enjoy their show," Titania and Anji tell him at the same time, then grinning at each other as the fast paced music signals the start of the next song.

Des and Kera again lead off, with the others joining in on vocals, before the song starts in earnest. Kaze and Jura duet this one as well, while the rest of the band covers background vocals. Leona concentrates on moving lights, and highlighting specific members as this one plays out, mostly when the song gives them a chance for a minor solo.

(Fourteenth Song: The Touch – Stan Bush: Transformers The Movie)

A simple four note lead in is all the warning anyone gets before Kaze and Jura swap off lines in this song while, according to plan, Leona tosses out illusions featuring Zoe, and several of her exploits. As points in her life are brought back to life along with the music, Kiryuu grins at her lovers shocked expression, and promises herself to congratulate the group on the planning for this one.

(Fifteenth Song (and finale): Godzilla – Blue Oyster Cult)

As the drums and keyboards vamp in the background, Kaze steps forward, and offers to the crowd, "Okay folks, we've got something _special_ planned for this one, so no one panic alright? It's all part of the show." And with that little warning out of the way, she nods to Jura, who turns back to the others and offers a thumbs up, signaling Kera that at the next spot she can jump in, to kick the song off. Once again the song is a duet for the most part, but the subject matter gets to each and every student of DKH.

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible snarl  
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down

Leona's magics are pushed to her limits on this one, as she creates life sized illusions of the great monsters around the concert, each of the great beasts staring at the stage with rapt attention.

Helpless people on a subway train  
Scream for God as he looks in on them

A wave of fear goes through the crowd once they realize that the monsters are there, and that they are surrounded.

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down  
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

The fear dissipates somewhat when they realize that the monsters heads are bopping along with the beat of the music.

Oh no, they say he's got to go, go, go Godzilla

Yeah  
Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go, go Godzilla

Yeah 

The monsters begin to roar in agreement, but somehow never manage to overpower the music and lyrics.

Oh no, they say he's got to go, go, go Godzilla

Yeah  
Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go, go Godzilla

Yeah 

After this, the members of the band each take a turn saying "Godzilla" over and over again, before Kaze makes a muted announcement (so it sounds like it was coming over a radio) signaling Godzilla's approach to the concert, while the others continue to chant the beasts name.

Oh no, they say he's got to go, go, go Godzilla

Yeah  
Oh no, there goes Tokyo, go, go Godzilla

Yeah 

Once again the other monsters roar in agreement, without disrupting the song.

History shows again and again  
How nature points up the folly of men

Godzilla

As the girls sing this line, the King himself finally appears behind the stage.

History shows again and again  
How nature points up the folly of men

Godzilla

This time, the beast takes in the appearances of all the other monsters.

History shows again and again  
How nature points up the folly of men

Godzilla

The other monsters all bow their heads respectfully, lest the King get it into his head to start a rumble with them here and now.

History shows again and again  
How nature points up the folly of men

Godzilla

The great beast acknowledges the mob of monsters with a nod, and they all start to dissolve into golden sparkles as they fade away.

History shows again and again  
How nature points up the folly of men

Godzilla!

With the forceful delivery of the final word, the King throws his head back and roars out his dominance over all, before joining the others in dissolving into a cloud of golden sparkles before vanishing completely.

"Thank you! You've been Great!" Jura calls to the crowd, before Leona's illusions make it appear that they too dissolve and fade out like the monsters before them, leaving the stage empty, and the crowd roaring for more.

"Let's go girls," Maizy says as the crowd realizes that no matter how much they cheer that the band isn't coming back.

"Why didn't they come back out for an encore?" Nuri asks.

"Because they didn't plan for things to go _this_ well," Immomu answers her.

"Give the worm a prize," Maizy agrees. "But seriously, we need to start heading back home, otherwise your keepers will never let us out alone after dark again."

"Sad, but true," Nuri agrees, while both Immomu and Zuki nod.

"Then let's head out. We'll walk Immomu and Nuri home first, then we can fly to your place Zuki," Maizy tells her green friend.

"Alright," Zuki agrees with a grin, happy that she doesn't have to say good night to her friends just yet.

"I wish I had my wings already," Both Nuri and Immomu mutter at the same time, making Maizy grin.

"Don't sweat it girls, we'll make it with time to spare," she tells them, as she leads the way toward the nearest exit to the campus.

"Well girls, I do believe we can call tonight a rousing success!" Leona smirks as the band collects back in their waiting room, to rest for a bit before attempting to leave.

"I must agree with that," Meo smiles.

"You are all welcome to come back to our place, to kick back and relax after this," Kaze tells them all, while Jura nods in agreement.

Then she shoots the twins a look, and adds, "And don't think you two are off the hook yet either. You still need to answer for that little stunt you pulled before the show."

"Oh really? What did you have in mind?" Sera asks, while maintaining a straight face.

"You'll find out soon enough," Kaze says.

"Oooh, mystery punishment! I can't wait," Kera giggles.

"Well you guys can have fun, but I'm going to head for home. I've got a kitty waiting to take care of me when I get there," Leona tells the group, before ducking out of the room.

"I'm going to head out too," Lara adds. "No offence to you guys, but after all this, I need some solo time."

"None taken. See you on Monday?" Jura asks her.

"You can bet on it," Lara answers, before leaving as well.

"So how about you two?" Kaze asks Des and Meo.

"We plan to go find a quiet place where we can unwind…..together," Meo states, a faint flush coloring her fuzzy cheeks.

"Yeah, we'll hook up with you guys at lunch or something," Des adds, as she helps Meo to her feet, and leads her out.

"Well, it looks like it's just the four of us," Jura says out loud.

"Whatever can we do to celebrate how tonight has gone?" Kaze asks, the sarcasm thick enough that she could club someone with it.

"Oh, I think we've got more than a few suggestion," Kera grins, while her sister adds a smiling nod of agreement.

"Then let's go. Between your flying surfboard, and Kaze's speed, we should make it back to the mansion before anyone else even realizes we've left the campus," Jura tells them.

Not another word is spoken as the group moves as quietly as they can to an exit, and immediately take to the sky once they get outside.

"_Ah, here comes my prey now,"_ Geisha smirks as she watches the foursome approach from her concealing shadows. "Everyone into positions! Take _no_ action without my express order!" she silently orders through her com system, receiving several responses before she turns her full attention back to Maizy and her friends.

"I still think they should have kept another couple of songs that they could have used for encore material," Nuri says as they move down the sidewalk toward her and her sisters home.

"Kaze isn't all that great at planning ahead like that," Maizy answers. "To be brutally honest, I'm actually kind of surprised that her plan for the band went as well as it did."

"Super Maizy does things before she thinks about them?" Zuki asks.

"Like a certain bundle of green energy that we all know and love," Immomu adds to her friend with a grin, making Zuki blush slightly at the compliment/criticism.

"Well, now. Isn't this an interesting little group. Didn't your parents teach you that it's dangerous for little kids to walk around alone after dark?" Geisha asks from the shadows. She grins as her words make the juniors bunch together, while Maizy finds her in the shadows with her scanners.

"Why don't you step out here where the rest of us can see you," Maizy snarls.

"Alright," Geisha answers good naturedly. Nuri and Immomu gasp in surprise when they see how pretty she is, with her crimson armor setting off her silver skin.

"Now then, what the fuck do you want?" Maizy demands.

"Why the lot of you of course," Geisha answers. "And don't bother trying to call for help, I've already jammed your communications array."

"Guys, I'm going to distract her, you all make a run for it," Maizy growls to her friends.

"We're not leaving you!" Nuri hisses.

"She's right, they won't be leaving you," Geisha agrees, right before both Nuri and Immomu fall to the ground, out cold. Little feathered tufts sticking out of the sides of their necks the only clue as to what had happened.

"Zuki! Get out of here and find my sisters! NOW!" Maizy roars, launching herself at Geisha.

Taken off guard, Geisha actually goes down under Maizy's surprise assault. For a few moments anyway.

Having never heard Maizy talk to her like that before, Zuki launches herself skyward, intent on returning toward the school in hopes of finding some help. She barely clears the rooftops, when she feels a sharp pain in her shoulder. She suddenly feels sleepy, and passes out seconds later, crashing into a rooftop pigeon coop, destroying it, and releasing the birds to freedom. A single blinking red light shines from the dart imbedded in the girls back.

"Impressive, prototype. You are one of the very few anymore that has managed to surprise me," Geisha admits, after throwing Maizy across the street.

"Oh, you'll find that I'm just full of surprises," Maizy shoots back, before unleashing her Photon Beams.

"You'll need to try harder than that, little one," Geisha smirks, as her own Photon Beams meet Maizy's head on, and over power them, pushing them back until they slam into Maizy, and knock her into an involuntary back flip.

"So where did you get your tech?" Maizy growls, as she slowly pushes herself up off of the wall the last shot had slammed her into.

"Why from dear Zoey of course!" Geisha answers in mock surprise that Maizy hadn't figured it out. "We where such _good _friends after all."

Taking this last little bit of information, Maizy makes the leap to identify her attacker.

"So you're the Red Geisha. Zoe's right, you _are_ a stuck up bitch," Maizy grins, as she unleashes everything she has at her opponent.

"Cute," Geisha snarls, as she knocks Maizy's rocket punches away, where they imbed themselves in a nearby wall. Maizy's beam attacks simply splash off of Geisha's armor, much to her shock. "My turn," Geisha snarls, as her energy blade flares to life, and she slams it into Maizy's gut, ripping it sideways, and free, in a spray of mechanized gore.

Maizy's eyes flicker twice, before she collapses, totally inoperable.

"Has the last one been tagged?" Geisha demands into her com.

"Affirmative. We can pick her up any time we wish," comes the answer.

"No, we leave that one. She is my invitation to Zoe to come out and play," Geisha returns with a feral grin, before ordering the support crew that finally appears to gather up the children, and Maizy's remains, before they return to their base.

"I think this is the first time we've been in here," Kera says as she looks around Jura and Kaze's room.

"Maybe in person," Jura answers, "But you've been in here before. At least in my head."

"You've been fantasizing about them?" Kaze asks, her voice oddly neutral.

"Once. And it was a dream that I just couldn't get out of my head," Jura admits.

"Then I think this is the perfect time to play it out," Kaze tells her with a smirk, before leering at the twins.

"I couldn't agree more," Jura grins. "Kaze, You will need to go get one of the big stuffed chairs from the living room."

"Alright," Kaze nods as she leaves to acquire the furniture.

"And as for the two of you," Jura grins as she beacons them closer, and whispers her fantasy to the both of them.

The face splitting grins the twins display are ample evidence that they like this plan.

"That's odd," Kiryuu mutters, as she and Zoe sit together in the park, staring up at the night sky.

"What's that?" Zoe asks, taking her attention away from the night sky, where she had been mentally connecting stars to make a constellation of Kiryuu's face.

"I just started picking up a positively _ancient_ military beacon. This code has to be more than 15 years old," the mecha dragon tells her lover. "I've never even seen something like this before, and they told me that I had every code ever used in my database."

"Let me see," Zoe tells her. After Kiryuu tells Zoe the proper frequency to tune into to, Zoe goes rigid in surprise.

"What is it?" Kiryuu demands.

"It's an old Shogun Maidens homing beacon," Zoe tells her.

"Do you know which member of your old team it is?" Kiryuu asks.

"That's the weird part, lover. It's _MY_ I.D.C!" Zoe answers.

"Your identification code? We _have _to go check this out now," Kiryuu states.

"No argument from me," Zoe agrees, as they both climb to their feet. "What's your bearing on the signal?" Zoe asks, as she moves several meters away.

Kiryuu answers her, and Zoe compares those numbers to what her own systems tell her from her location. "Let's see now….If we triangulate our two sets of readings, we get….."

"Isn't that the same couple of blocks that Mega-lass and her sister live in?" Kiryuu asks, making her own comparisons.

"Yes….And given that Maizy was out with the other kids tonight, I think we should go," Zoe tells her, her flight wings deploying. "Now!"

Zoe launches herself, and then loops back with both hands hanging down, so that Kiryuu can leap up and grab her hands, and add her own limited boosters to her flight pack, making the best time they can toward the signal.

It only takes them a few moments to travel the distance. Arriving in the general area, the signal leads them directly to the rooftop destruction Zuki caused. Moments later they find Zuki herself, still out cold.

"Her vitals are good, she's just out like a light," Kiryuu confirms as they gently extract the girl from the wreckage.

"And she's been tagged like some kind of damn animal," Zoe snarls as she gently works the barbed dart tip out of Zuki's shoulder. Carefully examining the dart, she finds that it has a memory chip in it.

"What do you make of this?" Zoe asks, handing Kiryuu the dart, and taking Zuki into her arms.

"I don't know. It will take me a couple of minutes to decode it, if it's not encrypted too deeply," she answers.

"Work as we search. The tracks from her crash say that she was coming from that direction over there. Let's find the other kids," Zoe orders, before stepping off the building.

"This isn't good at all," Zoe mutters as she looks over the scene of the small battle between Maizy and Geisha. "The street is melted, Photon beam tracks on all these walls, that impact point on that one…..Oh, no…." she moans, as her eyes find the stubby tubes sticking out of another wall.

"What are they?" Kiryuu asks, reaching up and pulling them free. When she sees the hands pull free of the wall, she knows exactly what she holds.

"Maizy's arms," Zoe confirms, a tremor in her voice.

"Whoever did this, knew what they where up against," Kiryuu tells her, resting a reassuring hand on her lovers shoulder.

Then they notice the puddle of mech fluids, at the same time that Kiryuu's systems finish decoding the memory chip.

Before Zoe can move to take a closer look, Kiryuu sends her the data from the chip.

"It's a video file. And it's not good news," Kiryuu tells her before Zoe plays it.

"Hello Zoe," Geisha smirks. "If you want to know where to find your prototype, I suggest you come down to the docks tomorrow evening at seven o'clock. Oh, and do come alone, won't you? It would be such a shame if I was forced to destroy anyone who was foolish enough to accompany you," she finishes, before the message loops again.

"I'm going to rip her cyber brain out, and see just how many volts it can take before it turns to slag….." Zoe snarls in fury.

"I realize this is weird coming from me, but you need to calm down, and deal with the current situation first," Kiryuu tells her, bringing her attention back the sleeping child cradled in her arms.

"You're right. First thing we need to do is get Zuki checked out, and back to Gigi. Then I'm going to track down that crimson bitch, and make her regret the day she ever decided to take over the Red Bamboo Army," Zoe answers, the glare from her optics glowing more and more intense as she goes on.

"You get her to the school. I'll call Milenna, and let her know that you are inbound and what is going on," Kiryuu tells her lover. "Then I'll get a hold of everyone you asked to back you up if something like this happened."

"No, I'll be going alone. I don't have a choice if I want to find out where Maizy and the others are," Zoe tells her.

"Who said we where going to go with you?" Kiryuu shoots back with a grin. "I plan to arrive with the cavalry about ten minutes or so after she springs whatever twisted trap she has in mind."

"I can live with that," Zoe answers with a weak grin as she launches, and heads to the school as quickly as she can.

"So, your plans are proceeding as expected?" one of several shadows asks from a monitor.

"Yes. I rid myself of Mazinger Zoe tomorrow evening, and finish collecting the subjects after that," Geisha answers.

"Very well. We must be moving on to our next project, but look forward to your support when we are able to return to this world," a second shadow tells her.

"I understand. I would like to thank you again for your assistance in adapting and improving upon the Mazinger Technologies that where subsequently incorporated into my body. And for the ability to keep my opponents from ever achieving a true victory," she answers.

"Having this world under your control when we return will be thanks enough," a third, and distinctly mechanical sounding, voice announces, before the transmission is cut off.

"Oh, it will be. And I plan to have an army of k-girls, with the powers of the ancient monsters under my control as well. Then I can _take_ your remaining secrets, and dispose of you all, as I plan to do with all the humans, save a small number that I plan to keep to breed more slaves," She mutters to herself, while staring at the blank screen.

"Immo! Immomu, wake up!" the voice orders insistently.

"Just a little longer, Mina," the caterpillar girl mumbles as she turns away from the voice.

"Damn it, we don't have time for this!" Nuri snarls, as she reaches down and gives her friends right nipple a violent twist.

"Yeee-ouch!" Immomu yells as she comes awake and slaps Nuri's hand away. "What was that for?" she demands, while rubbing her chest.

"I needed you awake, so you could help me," Nuri tells her.

"What's going on?" she asks, rubbing her head. "Last thing I remember was that voice on the street."

"We've been kidnapped," Nuri answers her. "And I don't like the way things are going at all," she adds, fingering the metal band around her neck, and glaring at the shimmering green dome that is surrounding them.

"We've been collared?" Immomu asks in shock, as she fingers the band around her own neck.

"That's not the worst part," Nuri adds grimly, as she points to something near Immomu's lower half.

"Maizy!" Immomu yells in surprise, horrified at the condition of their friends body.

"That's why I needed you awake," Nuri tells her. "I think we might have a chance, if we can get her back online."

Immomu curls around herself, holding Maizy securely within the arc of her body, as she takes a closer look at the cyber doll's ravaged midsection, and notices the additional damage done to her after her battle.

"Nuri…..Her eyes….." Immomu whispers.

"They must think we can get her back up and running too. So they took her most obvious weapon, and her ability to aim whatever other ones she still has," the little meganulon girl agrees, just as disgusted at what's been done to her friend as Immomu is.

"Let's get to work," Immomu says, as she gently lays Maizy out on her back.

"I hope what little she's taught us about emergency repairs will be enough," Nuri adds, as she begins to carefully poke around within Maizy's ruptured abdomen with a single claw, desperately looking for the specific parts Maizy told them to connect if she was ever knocked off line.

"Well, it looks like Zuki will be just fine," Milenna says to Zoe, the Mecha G sisters, and Gigi.

"But why would anyone want to do such a thing to the children?" Gigi demands, desperate for some reason that makes sense for someone to want to hurt the kids.

"Because the person responsible for all this, is a sadistic bitch, with delusions of god hood, and a goal of wiping out the human race, so she can rule the world," Zoe answers, her voice sounding disturbingly cold to everyone who knows her.

"And someone you used to call a friend," Katsura adds, the sympathy in her voice unmistakable. Something that anyone she's ever fought with would never believe her capable of.

"Yeah, she used to be part of my old strike team, back in the military. Back when I was a "super hero". When the war was over, and they shut us down, we all got retired, whether we wanted to stop serving or not," Zoe says. "She took it personally. Felt like the humans in charge had just discarded us, because they didn't need us anymore after we'd saved their asses. She ended up as a hooker in America. She managed to hook up with the terrorists of the Red Bamboo Army, and after joining, she killed the old commander, and took over. Now she rules, and she has enough resources to do pretty much anything she damn well pleases."

"Not anything. Not on our turf," Katsura returns, the whole notion of going so completely against her original programming is so alien to her that she is angered by the concept of it.

"She's right. This bitch may have the rest of the world by the balls, but this is NMI. We don't take shit from anyone, and we've got the power to back that up," Lara says, as she, Mia, and several others file into the room.

"Do you have any idea where they may be keeping My sister and the others," Mega-lass asks, barely able to keep herself from tearing off to search the island on her own.

"No, not yet. Geisha wants to meet with me in….another three hours," Zoe answers. "I hope to be able to get her to spill the location as we fight."

"You must have faith," Mina says, placing a hand on Mega-lasses shoulder. "Our sister is missing as well, as is Zoe's. You must believe we will find them alive and well, for without hope, we have nothing at all."

"We may also get some help from the kids as well," Kiryuu adds, drawing everyone's attention to her. At all their looks, she smirks and adds," C'mon, you know as well as I do that when it comes to that bunch, the only time they are _not_ in the middle of something is when they are asleep."

"She does have a point," Milenna adds with a wry grin, helping lesson some of the tension in the room.

"I'm leaving now," Zoe tells them all. "I'm going to do some searching, as I work my way to the docks."

"I'm going to go search as well. Call me if you find anything," Mega-lass adds, as the pair get up and prepare to leave.

"You can count on it," Milenna tells them both, with several nods from the others.

"Hey, I just noticed," Lara says looking around the assembled players. "Where are Kaze and Jura?"

"So, what do you have planned to do for your next performance?" Cole asks Leona as the pair cuddle up on the roof of their apartment building.

"You mean aside from screwing your brains out?" She asks with a smirk.

"Yeah, besides that," he laughs.

"Well, for that, you would have to ask the rest of the band," she starts to say, only to be interrupted by the appearance of a portal not three feet away from them.

"I don't get it," Cole admits as they stand up. "We haven't even _found_ any of the normal things we usually get pulled into a realm to deal with, and it's time for us to move on?"

"Maybe what we are after has moved on itself?" Leona offers, as she changes their clothing to their standard traveling gear.

"That's as good a guess as anything else," Cole admits, moving toward the portal.

"Just a second!" Leona blurts out, as she quickly waves her hands, creating a message, and sending it on its way.

"What was that?" Cole demands, watching the message fly out of sight.

"Just a little note to tell the others what is about to happen to us, and that they shouldn't expect to see us again anytime soon, if ever," Leona tells him, as she moves up toward the portal.

"Ready?" Cole asks, holding out his hand.

"Like you need to ask," she shoots back with a grin, as she puts her hand in his.

The portal collapses into nothingness moments after they step through.

"How are we doing?" Immomu asks Nuri as they try to bring Maizy back to life.

"I don't know. How long have we been at this?" Nuri asks.

"Most of the day," Immomu answers, looking at her watch. "It's almost seven."

"Mmmrrrrr….Bzzzz…..Wha….What happppppppennnnnned?" Maizy groans as static bursts through her voice.

"Maizy!" the bug girls cheer as they both hug their severely damaged friend.

"Since I he, he, hear you both, and mo, mo, most of my systems are down, I'm go, go, going to go out on a limb and say I ble, ble, blew it when I tried to stop her," Maizy says, the damage making her talk like Max Headroom. "Whe, whe, where are we? I can't see anything."

"We are trapped in some kind of energy dome," Nuri tells her, while Immomu props the cyber girl up against her lower half.

"What kind of shape am, am, am I in?" Maizy asks, not really sure she wants to know.

"Your arms are missing, and your optics have been smashed," Nuri tells her.

"And whatever happened to you in the fight, nearly ripped you in half," Immomu adds sadly. "Your hips and legs are barely attached to you anymore."

Maizy actually smiles at that. "Then the bit, bit, bit, bitch screwed up," she stutters. "My left boot. Sec, sec, secret panel in the bottom."

Nuri quickly moves down and finds the panel, and pops it open. "What is it?" she asks, as she brings what was in the compartment back up by the others.

"My special emer, emer, emergency beacon. I made one especially for myself. One th, tha, that can't be jammed, like my, my, my normal one can," Maizy answers.

"How do we use it?" Nuri demands, excited that they can call for help.

"Pu, pu, pull the pin. When the button pops up, hit it," Maizy answers. Then she finally gets some kind of reading on her condition. "Ah, ah, ah, crap, ap," she adds.

"What's wrong?" Immomu asks, while Nuri activates the beacon.

"I ne, ne. ne, need to shut down," Maizy tells them. "I'm on bat, bat, battery power, and need to conserve it, it, it, as long as I can."

"And if you stay online?" Nuri asks, suddenly deeply worried about her friend again.

"I'll die," Maizy deadpans, before she deactivates herself.

"We should have done this, _weeks_ ago," Kera grins, as she looks though Jura and Kaze's video collection.

"I couldn't agree more," Kaze smirks, from where she has both Sera and Jura cuddled up against her.

"Jeez, you two sure have a lot of Jackie Chan movies," Kera mutters as she looks through the titles. "What's "Vampire Effect" about? Besides vampires that is."

"Put it in the player, and you can find out," Jura tells her, a contented smile on her face.

"Then you can make us popcorn," Sera adds.

"Cancel that. Everybody up, Now!" Kaze orders, as she pushes past Jura and Sera to climb off the bed.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Jura demands, getting up and grabbing for some clothes.

"Did we do something wrong?" Sera asks, climbing off the bed herself.

"Maizy's in trouble," Kaze tells them.

"How can you tell?" Kera asks, grabbing her clothes and tossing Sera hers.

"Distress beacon," Kaze answers. "Here, take a listen," she adds, as she routes the signals added audio through her speakers.

"Zoe, if you're picking this up, then I am in way deeper shit than I can get myself out of. You know that I would never call for help unless things where bad. Well, I'm calling for help. You do the math," Maizy's voice rings out, before the message repeats, and Kaze turns off the feed, concentrating on locating the origin of the signal.

"I suggest we dress for a fight," Jura tells them as she grabs the toughest clothes she has.

"I couldn't agree more," Kaze says as she touches her choker and dons her armor.

"We'll change once we get outside," Sera tells them. "Wouldn't want to trash the house with the elgo fields."

"Appreciated," Jura smirks as she pulls on a leather jacket over her red t-shirt.

"Let's roll," Kera says, opening the balcony doors.

"Follow me," Kaze calls, as she grabs Jura and launches skyward.

"So nice of you to come, Zoe," Geisha says as Zoe lands behind her on a warehouse rooftop.

"You didn't exactly give me a choice in the matter," Zoe shoots back. "Where are the kids?" she demands.

"You didn't honestly expect me to tell you, just like that, did you?" Geisha smirks over her shoulder at her.

"Not really, but it was worth a try," Zoe answers, drawing her sword.

"I won't allow you to stand in my way this time, _Commander,_" Geisha tells her as she turns around, the lowering sun glinting on her golden helm.

"You're still holding a grudge over the fact that I was named commander of the Maidens, over you," Zoe shakes her head in disbelief.

"I was always better suited to command than you where," Geisha snarls.

"Nah, you're just a legend in your own mind," Zoe smirks, before lashing out with her Photon Beams.

"Not bad, Zoey," Geisha grins, bringing up her shield to catch the blast. "Now try one of mine!" she snarls as she fires her own Photon Beams, catching Zoe off guard, and knocking her off her feet.

"When did you get _my_ weapons?" Zoe demands, scrambling to her feet, and bringing her blade up.

"Remember when I had your mind disconnected from your body?" Geisha returns, as the pair slowly circle each other. "I took the opportunity to duplicate everything you have."

"So now you think you can hang with the big kids?" Zoe asks, as she moves in to remove Geisha's head with her sword.

"Oh, more than that," she returns, as she catches Zoe's sword with her energy blade, sparks cascading from the point of contact. "Much more," she sneers as she forcibly disengages their blades, and kicks Zoe in the gut.

"You've been practicing," Zoe growls, before smirking at the signal she suddenly picks up. "And now I don't need you anymore."

"Oh? Planning to abandon the kiddies to my care?" Geisha smirks back.

"No. But Kaze and Jura will be picking them up," Zoe answers, as the crimson "V" on her chest starts to glow. "Fire Blaster!" she calls, as the heat beam flares out and engulfs Geisha.

"Impressive as ever Zoe, but it's just not enough," Geisha tells her, deflecting the heat blast skyward with her arm shield.

"Then maybe we can tip the odds?" Kiryuu asks, as the mecha girls, the Mothras, and Gina's group start popping up on the nearby rooftops.

"Zoe, I'm actually impressed!" Geisha tells her with a grin. "I never thought you would abandon your honor to bring reinforcements."

"Time's change, bitch," Zoe answers. "After dealing with enough people like _you_, I've learned to stack the deck in my favor."

"Too bad for you, but I've always run with that plan," Geisha smirks, as her support team suddenly throw off the stealth cloaks that had been concealing them.

"Jamming cloaks? I thought they had all been destroyed in the war!" Zoe sputters in surprise, first at their sudden appearance. Then she snarls in outrage when she gets her first good look at them. "You cheap copycat bitch!"

"This is not going to be pretty," Mia mutters, facing off against a duplicate of Zoe clad in golden armor, instead of black.

The others all echo that sentiment as they prepare to fight the other duplicates that they face.

"She's in there?" Kera asks, as the foursome lands on a rooftop across from the warehouse that Maizy's signal is coming from.

"Yes. And I don't like the fact that she isn't answering me," Kaze returns.

"Zoe knows that we're on this, but she seems to be in the middle of something," Jura tells them.

"Then I guess it's up to us," Sera says, she and her sister clad in their Gravion Armors.

"Then I guess it's time to knock," Kera grins, leveling her shoulder cannons at the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Korgha says, as she and Ezra appear behind the foursome.

"Although I would enjoy it if you want to resist coming along quietly," Ezra adds, leering at the group.

Sounds of distant thunder signal Zoe and the others mixing it up in earnest with Geisha and her duplicate Zoe's.

Korgha begins the attack with her sonic shriek, while Ezra rushes Jura.

"Korgha will stop your friends, while I feast upon you!" Ezra snarls as she slams into Jura.

"You talk too much," Jura grunts, matching her strength against Ezra's

"Anyone got anything that will counter this?" Kaze grunts in pain, as the sonic barrage causes random power shorts to spark through her and the twins.

"Can't focus enough to aim," Kera mutters, as a shower of sparks shoot from her neck.

"Let me try," Sera growls, reaching toward her leg, as sparks erupt from her shoulder. A panel moves, and a handle slides up to a point that Sera can reach it. Grasping it, she snaps her arm toward Korgha, while snarling, "Graviton Viper!"

The purple energy lash catches Korgha by surprise, forcing her to cut off her sonic assault in order to dodge.

"This is all that one of the highly regarded "Godzilla Girls" is capable of?" Ezra grins, her needle fangs showing. "I will enjoy feeding upon you."

"Eat this," Jura snarls as her spinal plates flash.

The radiation blast knocks Ezra three buildings away, before she lands.

"Finally! A worthy Opponent!" Ezra snarls in glee as she returns to her feet. She charges back at Jura, firing off eyebeams as she leaps from one building to another.

"Kiss this!" Jura snarls as she soccer kicks a revolving ventilation fan at Ezra.

Ezra just grins wider and ducks her head, her horn glowing with power as it shears the metal globe in half. "My turn!" she snarls as she leaps above Jura, and bathes her in flames from her mouth.

"_Why do I always get the hard cases?"_ Jura wonders to herself as her clothes start to burn.

"_Need to be careful. These are powerful opponents,"_ Korgha thinks as she maneuvers for another attack, deftly dodging everything that the mecha girls have thrown at her so far.

"Swarm attack!" Kaze calls out, her forearm armor starting to rotate. "Turbo Smasher Punch!" she snarls, as her forearms launch toward Korgha.

"Double Graviton Pressure Punch!" Sera calls, her arms launching as well.

"Sol Drill Bit, Soul Spiral Crusher!" Kera adds, her arms also launching.

"Gah!" Korgha snarls in unpleasant surprise, repeatedly dodging the rocket punches, until Kera's regular flying punch manages to tag her in the back of the head, knocking her to the rooftop at Kaze's feet.

"Nappy time for you," Kaze growls, her re-attached arms appearing monstrously huge to Korgha as she reaches down and cracks her across the head again, knocking her out.

"You are strong, but you lack the instincts needed to see you through this," Ezra snarls, before sinking her fangs into Jura's shoulder as they grapple with each other.

Jura screams in pain and unleashes her shockwave, the energy more than Ezra can deal with as it knocks her away from Jura.

"An interesting attack," Ezra growls, smoke curling from her burnt mouth.

"I don't like to be bitten," Jura snarls back.

"Too bad for you," Ezra smirks, blasting Jura over and over again with her eyebeams.

"I, am getting _really_ tired of you," Jura growls, before unleashing another radiation blast that catches Ezra in the face, and slams her into a rooftop power transformer. The detonation is enough to knock her out.

"You alright?" Kaze asks, as Jura jumps back to the other rooftop.

"I'll live," she answers, what few wounds still visible fading from her body as the others watch.

"Then let's go find the kids," Kera says, her shoulder cannons once again locking on to the front door.

"_Sounds like these guys just pissed off the landlord,_" Crystal thinks as the sound of the front door being obliterated penetrates into her cell. "Yeeeargh!" she screams as she tries to use her powers again, making the chair rack her with pain as the electric shock comes again. Once the convulsions stop, she concentrates on herself, not attempting to use any of her overtly offensive powers, rather sending her horded energy to the seed crystals she had managed to plant when she was brought into the building.

"I think our rides here," Nuri smirks as they listen to Kera open the front door.

"I wonder who it is?" Immomu adds. "I wish we could see through this stupid dome."

"Don't sweat it, worm," Nuri tells her friend with a smile. "As long as we've got this," she adds, picking up the beacon, "they will find us. I just hope that we can get her fixed up before she runs out of power," she finishes with a worried glance at Maizy.

"Okay, so do we do this nice? Or messy?" Kera asks, as she leads the way in through the smoking mess that used to be the front of the warehouse.

"Split up," Jura says. "We can search faster that way. And don't blow up anything unless there is no other choice. We don't know if the kids might catch any of the splash damage."

"Here is the beacon freq. Let's hurry," Kaze adds, as she sends the information to the twins.

"There they are! Open Fire! Get them!" the guards yell as they pour around the corner and catch sight of the foursome.

"Tornado Power!" Kaze roars, blowing the lot of them into the wall, where most of them are either knocked out, or drop their weapons and retreat.

"Let's go!" Sera orders, as she and her sister go one way, while Kaze and Jura go the other.

"There you are," Crystal whispers to herself as her mind finally makes contact with her seed crystals. Slowly, she starts feeding her energy through the link, making the crystals grow from specks of dust to foot long spikes, piercing the power conduits and gaining access to the buildings power grid. Crystal then reverses her earlier efforts, allowing the energy flowing into the crystals to be directed at her. Unfortunately, the power is still kept from her by the shielded room.

"What the hell?" Kaze snarls as a blast of green lightning nearly fries her as she starts around another corner.

"Looks like something is in there, and they want to keep it that way," Jura adds as she peaks around the corner, watching as the bolts impact against a heavy door, leaving several shallow craters blasted in the surface.

"Suggestions?" Kaze asks, as Jura leans back behind cover.

"Get them!" several guards yell as they come up behind the pair and open fire.

"You take care of the goons, and let me worry about the door," she says, as she dives around the corner.

"You boys are really starting to annoy me," Kaze growls, turning to face the guards, and rising to her full height. Several bullets bounce off her chest plate, before she unleashes a Photon Beam that leaves a molten trail across the hall, micrometers from the guards feet.

"AHH!" the ones at the front scream, before forcing their way back, causing the others to turn and run as well.

"Wimps," Kaze smirks, before turning back to follow Jura.

"Let's see how tough this door really is," Jura growls, as her spinal plates flash. The blast of raw power causes the door to glow yellow/white, but isn't quite enough to burn through it.

At least not until the next lightning blast hits it.

"Yes!" Crystal cheers as the door starts to glow from the energy hitting it. When it suddenly starts glowing white, the heat within becomes nearly unbearable, even for her, but her next power feed burns through the door, and completely recharges her. The next one she feeds into the chair, shorting out its systems. "Finally!" she snarls, as she stands up, using her strength and TK powers to rip herself free of the restraints.

Jura barely manages to dive out of the way, as the door is blown off of its hinges from the inside.

"That was entirely too close," she mutters, as the smoky gloom is illuminated in crackling bursts by more of the green lightning. "What the hell did they have locked up in there?" she wonders as a silhouette appears in the gloom, back lit by the green energies.

"Well, well, well. I know for a fact that you are far too much of a good person to be involved with these bastards. So why are you here?" Crystal demands, after levitating herself through the smoke and catching sight of Jura.

"They kidnapped Nuri, Immomu, and Maizy. We came to take them home," Kaze tells her as she stomps around the corner.

"How did they get you?" Jura asks, shocked that they could imprison someone as powerful as Crystal.

"They hit us while I was still recovering from what that little silver bitch did to me," she snarls in return. "They still have Kumi in here somewhere."

"You go ahead, and hook up with the twins," Jura orders Kaze. "I'm going to help her search for Kumi."

"Who asked you?" Crystal snarls, more out of surprise than anything else.

"Drop the "Tough Girl" crap," Jura tells her. "You are scared shitless that something has happened to Kumi, same as we are about the kids. We are all on the same side here, so let's team up, and make these bastards regret having ever contemplated the idea of fucking with us."

"I knew there was something about you that I liked. You should let this side out more often," Crystal smirks.

"The next time we end up attacking a terrorist stronghold to rescue kidnapped hostages, I'll invite you along," Jura shoots back with a smirk of her own.

"You part of the team now?" Kaze asks the blue saurian.

"Looks that way," Crystal tells her, looking up at her armored face. Crystal's expression softens just a touch as she says, "Good luck on finding the kids."

"Same to you and your spider," Kaze returns, griping Jura on the shoulder, before dashing off down the hall, the sounds of gunfire echoing back in her wake.

"Ready?" Jura asks her new partner.

"They've had us for I don't know how long. Payback is _long_ overdue," Crystal tells her, floating off down the hall, forcing Jura to trot to keep up.

"You have got to be kidding me," Cyra snarls as the first reports reach her.

"What the hell is going on?" Spyra demands, ready to rip the alert speakers out of the walls.

"We are under attack! And they are already inside!" Cyra tells her, her forearm blasters extending.

"How did they get past the guard dogs?" Spyra growls.

"They are tearing through the troops like a chainsaw through jello. If they are lucky, Korgha and Ezra are just out cold. Otherwise, they are dead," Cyra tells her. Then she orders. "You stay with the spider. I'm going to go check on Crystal and the brats."

"Hurry. Geisha will be _incredibly_ pissed if they get away," Spyra tells her.

"No shit," Cyra growls, dashing out the door.

"What the fuck is that?" Kera demands, as they find a large room, with a green energy dome in the center. Emitters spaced around the edge of the dome beam energy up to a central point, where it falls back down as a curtain of energy.

"Judging by the reading I'm getting, it's where they are keeping the kids," Sera tells her.

"How do we get them out?" Kera asks, quickly making a lap around the dome.

"Take out the emitters," Sera orders, the cannons on her forearms unleashing purple energy bolts.

"On it," Kera agrees, the drill mounted on her left arm spinning up, and then bursting into flame as she dashes around the other side of the dome. It only takes a few moments for the pair to disable the energy prison.

"Zoe and Kaze must be bringing the place down around their ears," Nuri smirks as they feel yet another explosion vibrate through the floor of their prison.

"You don't think Jura would let them come after us alone, do you? Our sisters are probably out there too!" Immomu tells her, just before the dome drops.

"You two alright?" Kera asks, once she can see them.

"Oh, god," Sera gasps, being the first of the two to see what's left of Maizy.

"Who are you?" Nuri demands, jumping up to stand between her friends and the two armored warriors.

"Nuri, It's the twins, I recognize their voices," Immomu tells her, before turning her attention to their rescuers. "We need to get Maizy back to her house as soon as we can. She shut herself down after we got her awake, so she could conserve her emergency batteries. We need to get her home and hooked up to the repair machines, or we will lose her for good!"

"Get a hold of Kaze! Now!" Kera orders her sister, while kneeling to gather the little cyber girl into her arms.

"She's this way," Crystal says, after they pause at another intersection of halls.

"How can you tell?" Jura asks as they move off again.

Crystal's smirk actually grows into a grin as she says, "A little something you said to me during our last meeting, got me to thinking about playing with my powers a bit. So I used them to grow Kumi a pair of incredibly detailed earrings."

Jura can't help but grin at that.

"And since they are made out of my crystals, I can track them," Crystal finishes, as she brings them up short, then floats back down the hall to stop in front of a door they had just rushed past.

"She's here?" Jura asks.

"Yes," Crystal answers.

"On three?" Jura asks as her spinal plates start to glow.

"On three," Crystal agrees, energy arcing back and forth from her own plates and shoulder crystals.

Once their countdown hits the magic number, they both unleash their powers on the door before them, nearly liquefying it before they blow it out of their way.

"Avon calling!" Jura calls through the smoke, before leaping through.

"I don't recall telling you that you could come in," Spyra snarls, her spider legs shooting forward to hit Jura in the chest as she flies through the smoke, pumping Jura full of enough drugs to kill a lesser K-Girl.

As Jura hits the floor in a twitching heap, Crystal floats through the smoke and snarls, "I don't recall asking for your permission, fake." Then she telekinetically slams the disguised robo-spider into the wall.

"Oh, pooh. I guess I'll just have to kill you and take my chances with the Commanders displeasure," Spyra returns with Kumi's voice.

"Highly doubtful," Crystal retorts, unleashing her Corona Beams on Spyra, torching her disguise, and revealing her true appearance.

"Thanks for ruining my clothes. Do you have any idea how long it takes to make something like that?" she demands, before blasting Crystal with Photon Beams.

A prism like crystal shield appears in front of the redhead, splashing the beams in several directions, but not letting a single erg of power through.

"I swore that I was going to enjoy destroying the lot of you," Crystal tells Spyra, her tone deadly calm. "Time to collect on my first payment."

"I think not," Spyra retorts, before she opens her mouth wide, and unleashes her most powerful weapon.

The blast actually manages to knock Crystal back several feet, despite not breaching her shield.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" she demands, firing another corona beam.

She is less than happy to see that the energy is gathered by a gem that rests where spider-bot's belly button would be if she was alive.

"Tasty," Spyra grins, before firing another blast from her mouth cannon.

"Fuck you," Crystal snarls, as she lands on her feet and bull rushes the robot.

"Can we? I _did_ want to play with you, but you where so uncooperative," Spyra answers, her spider limbs coming up around her into attack position.

"It wasn't an offer," Crystal growls, spinning into a tail whip.

Spyra dodges that easily, just as Crystal had expected. When the spider leaps into a back flip to avoid the tail, she grabs her in a Telekinetic grip, and slams her face first into the wall.

"Sucks when all your ranged weapons are mounted on your face, and you can't look at me, doesn't it?" Crystal sneers as she calmly walks up behind the trapped robot. Drawing her hand back, she slams her fist into Spyra's back several times, until she finally cracks her armor enough.

"That all you've got?" Spyra sneers, thinking that Crystal has given up.

"You're already dead. You just don't realize it yet," Crystal tells her, releasing her grip as she goes to check on Jura. After finding a steady pulse, she turns back to Spyra and growls, "You have ten seconds to tell me where Kumi is. After that, I'll finish tracking her down myself."

"As if," Spyra snarls, firing several blasts of Photon Beams at her.

Crystal gives Spyra her most malicious smile as the beams are deflected, then she concentrates on the tiny seed crystals that she had forced through the cracks in Spyra's armor. "Die," she orders, as she force grows the crystals within Spyra's body.

"Wha?" is all Spyra has time for, before the crystals rupture her power core, and rip her body apart.

"Told you so," Crystal smirks at the head resting at an angle atop the tallest point of the new formation. Then she continues into the next room, and upon seeing Kumi, wishes that she could destroy Spyra again, only taking the time to make it hurt more.

Jura slowly drags herself to her feet and stumbles through the door, in time to see Crystal lay Kumi down on a flat sheet of crystal, and then force grow it into a cocoon that completely covers her, except for a very fine grid in front of her face.

"Good, your mobile," Crystal says, not bothering to look at Jura.

"What happened? It's all blank after I jumped into the smoke," Jura says.

"You got blindsided by the one that was impersonating Kumi," Crystal tells her, finally looking away from her encased lover.

"What's wrong?" Jura demands after seeing the tear streaked face of the toughest girl in the school.

"They did something to her," she whispers, unable to make herself say it any louder. "She's alive, but….I can't feel _her_ in there. Not at all. I….I'm afraid I've lost her," she adds, the silent tears continuing to flow.

"Like hell," Jura growls, forcing herself upright, and moving to get a closer look at Kumi. After taking in the wide eyed stare for a few moments, she turns around and starts toward the outer door. "Let's go. I'm sure Meo can help her."

"Why would she?" Crystal demands, levitating herself and Kumi, and floating after Jura.

"Because this was done to her against her will. Because it's horrible, and should have never been allowed to happen in the first place! Because she is a Mothra. Because she is a healer, and it would kill her to leave her like that without at least trying to help her," Jura snarls back, surprising Crystal.

"Can you find the others?" Crystal asks.

"I'm about done playing nicely," She says, not bothering to answer. Instead, her plates start to spark and flash, before she totally slags doorways through at least five walls, making sure to keep her aim high enough to not hurt anyone on the floor.

"It really is a shame you don't like the way we play. You would make a great addition to our side," Crystal tells her, a very faint and tired smile on her face.

"Sorry, but I've got my own team to play with," Jura answers, with the same kind of smile as they start through the new doors. They find the twins shortly after Kaze does.

"We are getting our tails kicked!" Angie yells to Gina as they continue to fight a losing battle against the mechanical clones of Zoe.

"No kidding!" she yells back, giving one of the copies a blast of radiation that erases her from her boobs, to her knees.

"You and the Mech's are about the only ones making any kind of headway, and that's debatable!" Titania adds, throwing every piece of rooftop junk and equipment she can lay her claws on at the golden versions of Zoe.

"Hold on. We must win!" Kim orders, his blows knocking the robots back, but only succeeding in superficial damage, that begins repairing itself shortly after they stop moving. Moments later they climb back to their feet, and charge again.

"Why don't you do something useful for a change?" Angie snarls at him as she ducks one of the clones punches, and tail sweeps her off her feet.

"They won't stay off him long enough," Gina answers for him, Grabbing the one Angie had knocked down, and throwing it at one that is about to get a hold of Titania.

"We need backup," they all growl together.

"We _will_ stop you," Zoe snarls, only to be brought up short as Geisha's energy blade shears through her sword.

"Your friends can't help you," Geisha gloats. "Soon they will belong to me, and shortly after that, I will use what I learn from them to make my army into a force that no country in the world will be able to stand against.

"Over my burnt out power core," Zoe snarls, facing off with Geisha once more.

"I can live with that," Geisha smirks, holding one arm up, pointing into the sky as storm clouds begin to roll in from out of nowhere.

"It's not possible," Zoe whispers, stunned into helplessness as she can only stare in shock at what Geisha is doing.

"Oh, but it is," the Crimson Warrior sneers, before shouting "Thunder Break!"

Lightning arcs down from the sky, hitting her outstretched arm, and bouncing back and forth between the twin horns on her helmet, before jumping to her other hand as she points it at Zoe.

The Lightning bolt takes her in the gut. Even Zoe's abilities to channel electrical energies can't cope with that much raw power, so when it hits the bolt knocks her from the sky.

A scream of rage, and a fiery streak coming toward the fight, signal that it's not over yet.

Not by a long shot.

"_ZOE!_" Kiryuu screams as she watches her lover fall. Suddenly her optics go red, and for the first time since she had come online, her inner beast, and her cyber brain are in complete accord.

Kill the one who hurt Zoe.

As three of Geisha's copy Zoe's rush her, her chest plates open, and energy begins to sparkle across the front of the central crystal. The copies all leap at her as she arches her back to aim her weapon up at the hovering Geisha.

The star shaped energy burst flashes out, though the copies, and continues up toward Geisha. The copies shatter when they hit Kiryuu, but Geisha isn't willing to play the mecha dragons game.

"Fire Blaster!" Geisha calls, unleashing the heat beam from her suddenly glowing shield.

The intensity of the hot and cold blasts colliding knocks everyone off their feet, and nearly crashes Geisha herself.

"You'll not be getting another shot like that," Geisha snarls after regaining her stability. Jetting down toward Kiryuu, Geisha blasts her repeatedly with Photon Beams, until she falls. The damage, combined with the power drain of using the Absolute Zero Cannon leaves her unable to continue.

"Who's next?" Geisha smirks.

"Nice job guys," Kaze says as she enters the kid's prison area. She stops cold, and pales when Kera turns around and she sees what's been done to Maizy.

"She was trying to protect us," Nuri tells her, tears in her eyes.

"Do you two know how to hook her up to the repair equipment?" Kaze asks, her voice suddenly gone cold.

"Yes. We've helped her before when Zuki has hugged her," Immomu tells her.

Turning to Sera, she orders, "Take them back to the house. Hurry, and get her hooked up."

As Kaze turns her back, tears start to slide down her face, memories of everything the little cyber doll had done for her running through her mind in the space between heartbeats.

"What are you going to do?" Kera demands, shocked that Kaze _isn't_ going to see to her sister personally.

"Finish her fight," she snarls as she turns back to face them, the marks on her face glowing redder than her chest plate. Without another word, her battle mask slides into place as her wings snap out, and she launches herself through the roof at full afterburner, just as Jura and Crystal arrive.

"What's going on?" Jura demands, but stops short, before rushing over to Kera so she can get a good look at Maizy. "Oh, god. She's been nearly ripped in half!"

"And now Kaze's gone off to find the one who did it to her. And I don't think she's planning to take prisoners," Sera tells her.

"Good. That means I won't have to track that silver skinned bitch down myself and punch her ticket," Crystal growls.

Spinning around on her, Jura asks, "Can you take the kids back to the Mansion? You can put Kumi in one of the empty rooms and stay with her."

Caught off guard, Crystal answers, "I _could_ if I knew where it was. I've never cared enough about you guys to find out."

"We can lead you," Immomu tells her.

"Yeah, we fly with our sisters all the time, so we can guide you," Nuri agrees.

"Please," Jura begs.

"Alright. But why can't these two do it?" Crystal asks, gathering everyone she will be taking into her telekinetic grip.

"Because I need them to help me go after Kaze," Jura answers.

"We need to hurry!" Nuri urges everyone. "Maizy's time is running out!"

"Let's go," Sera orders as she grabs Jura, while Kera launches, smashing Kaze's hole bigger on her way out.

"Our turn. You two sit on the crystal, and keep her steady," Crystal orders, maneuvering them atop of Kumi's crystal cocoon. Then she lifts them all clear of the warehouse.

But instead of leaving right away, she just hovers there, until Immomu demands, "What are you waiting for?"

"Just tying up a loose end," Crystal answers, just before crystal spires erupt from several places within the building, continuing to grow until the remains of the building collapses around them. "Now we can go," she finishes, moving them along as quickly as she can.

The kids can only stare in shock at what they've just seen.

"Mazinger Blades!" Kaze snarls as she flies toward the battle. Twin sword hilts extend from her shoulder guards, and the blades appear in a burst of light as she pulls the hilts free. "Now to…What the hell?" she pulls up in surprise. "Multiple Zoe's? But their colors are wrong." Then she sees that they are attacking others from the school. "Game over for the copycats," she snarls, diving into the battle blades first.

"C'mon! Come get some!" Des snarls as she stands protectively in front of Meo, Bathing the copy Zoe in front of her in flames.

To little effect.

The robot continues through Des's assault, and delivers an uppercut that deposits the Ghidorah girl to nappy land, _behind_ Meo.

"_DES!_" Meo screams as she watches her lover soar over her head in slow motion. She is by her side before she stops bouncing, and the moth girl is relieved to find that Des is still alive. Then she gives the robot a look that no one who has ever met her would believe she was capable of.

One of complete hate.

"You hurt Des!" she snarls, energy blasts erupting from the three little marks on her forehead, each one staggering the robot back a few steps.

The fight is ended abruptly when a large object lands behind the copy, and twin rips appear in its body, going from shoulder to crotch on both sides of its head. After the copy collapses into three distinct pieces, Kaze stands back up from her landing crouch.

"You alright?" she demands, as she picks her next target.

"Yes, but Des, and several of the others are hurt," Meo answers her, as she returns to her lovers side.

"Patch them up as best you can," Kaze tells her, as she starts to move off.

"Wait!" Meo calls to her.

"What?" Kaze asks, looking over her shoulder.

"It's Zoe. She's down on the street….somewhere," she answers.

"How? Who did it?" Kaze demands, her facial marks starting to get even brighter as she finds out that she may have lost _both_ of her sisters tonight.

"Her," Meo tells her, pointing up at where Geisha is hovering over the battle, enjoying the sight of her small army of Copies beating back the K-Girls.

"Then it's time to ruin her night," Kaze growls. Then she is gone in a burst of flight exhaust.

"Good Luck," Meo whispers after her friend, before turning her attention to healing Des.

Kaze is a force of destruction that the copies simply cannot stand against. From the moment she returns to flight, she is ripping through the copies as if they are constructed of balsa wood and tissue paper, instead of the very same materials as Zoe is. It only takes her a few moments to finish her rampage through the copies, easily demolishing more than a dozen, before she boosts skyward, for her meeting with the Red Geisha.

"So another challenger appears before me," Geisha taunts as Kaze comes within range of her voice.

"I don't know what you did to Zoe, or why you tried to kill Maizy, but you are going to pay for it," Kaze snarls, bringing her swords up into a "x" stance in front of her.

"Oh, look, someone thinks she's a Mazinger," Geisha smirks, mistakenly assuming that Kaze is some other mecha girl playing dress up.

"Laugh this off, _bitch!_" Kaze roars, boosting forward so quickly that she nearly manages to take Geisha's head with her first slice, before she can dodge.

"_Can't afford to toy with this one,_" Geisha thinks grimly to herself as she uses every trick she's ever known, several of which Zoe herself taught her, to keep Kaze from carving parts off of her.

"What's the problem? Afraid to stand and Fight? Or are you only able to do that against little girls, or when you have overwhelming numbers on your side?" Kaze snarls as she continues to attack.

"Foolish girl, your mouth has just signed your death warrant!" Geisha snarls back, her energy blade erupting from beneath her shield, and coming down to rip through _both_ of Kaze's swords, and leaving a carbon scar on her shoulder, but failing to do any real damage to her armor.

"Well, at least now I know how you managed to take out Zoe," Kaze growls, smashing her arm against Geisha's as she moves back for a little room to maneuver.

"Oh no, that was just the prelim! _This is how I took out that stupid, stuck up, cyber cunt!_" Geisha screams as she calls down the lightning once more. "Thunder Break!" she cries as she directs an even bigger charge than she used on Zoe, right into Kaze's chest plate.

Kaze uses the distraction of the lightning hitting her chest plate to close the distance between them. When the river of electrical destruction finally plays out, she snarls right into Geisha's face, "News flash, _bitch_. I'm not playing Mazinger. Maizy and Zoe are my sisters, and you are going down for what you've done to them. Turbo Punch!" she finishes her forearm armor spinning up to speed as she smashes her fist into Geisha's face, sending her tumbling from the sky to crash into a rooftop some distance from the battle between her now greatly outnumbered copies, and the K-girls and their reinforcements.

"This is going to hurt," Katsura thinks as one of the copy Zoe's is about to rip her head off with a punch that she is too depleted to counter. The sudden onslaught of lightning and flames comes as just as much of a surprise to her, as it is to the copy, who is eventually blown clear of Katsura's location by the energies unleashed. "Who?" she gasps weakly as she turns to see who it is that saved her.

"I can't believe that Milenna actually threatened all of us if we didn't come out here and help," Kazira growls in annoyance, her hand still smoking from the amount of energy she had just unleashed.

"She is one of the few capable of making good on any threat she might offer, and be able to counteract any sort of revenge we may attempt in response. She is not one to anger lightly," Bai Xiong returns, smoke rising in wisps from the corners of her mouth as she answers Kazira.

"I don't care why you're here," Katsura breaks in. "Thanks for the save," she finishes, moving off to find Sumegi, and offer tactical advice to her "little" sister.

"Well, shall we find another one of these gold plated toasters to slag?" Kazira asks with a feral grin.

"For someone who is complaining so much about the need to come, you seem to be enjoying yourself," Bai tells her, looking at her from the corner of her eye, so the Ghidora girl can't see her ever so slight smile.

"May as well make the best of it," Kazira answers with a shrug as she spreads her wings and leaps up. "Now, let's go find something else to smash, so that the nights not a complete wash!"

"Jeez, five of you, all for little old me. You shouldn't have. No I'm serious, you really shouldn't have," Lara mutters, continuing to blast away at the copies, while every few minutes another display within her vision reports that yet another of her weapons has either been depleted or destroyed by the copies.

Suddenly laser bursts, followed by lightning, and finished off with a napalm bomb clear the area around her of threats, while from above a smirking voice calls out, "Looks like Miss Firepower bit off more than she could chew."

"Gabby, if not for the fact that you four just saved my ass, I'd cluster bomb you for that," Lara smirks back, waving at Giganna, Megan, Cyganna, and Gabrelle as they fly past to finish off their targets.

"You're going to pay for that," Geisha snarls as she kicks herself free of the rubble her landing caused.

"I really doubt that," Kaze growls back, stalking across the rooftop toward her.

"Fire Blaster" Geisha yells, bringing her shield up in front of her body, before the heat beam erupts and bathes Kaze in its power.

"Here, let me show you how that's done," Kaze tells her, not inconvenienced in the slightest by what is one of the most powerful attacks a Mazinger possesses. "Fire Blaster!" she snarls, the crest on her chest glowing for a moment before unleashing a heat beam far more powerful than Geisha's. It only takes a second for Kaze to overpower Geisha's beam. Geisha dives to the side, and manages to survive, but she screams in agony as her shield arm, super heated by Kaze's assault, warps and deforms under her weight, becoming little more than a twisted lump below the elbow.

"Kaiser Sword!" Kaze calls, causing the golden emblem in the center of her crest to seemingly float free for a moment. Suddenly the emblem is the centerpiece of a huge, ornate sword that Kaze reaches out and wields in one hand. "And now, It's time to finish this," Kaze growls, grim purpose in each step as she closes on Red Geisha.

"Photon Beam!" Geisha yells, focusing her energies on the sword, only to have them do little more than warm the metal.

"Don't bother. The swords you destroyed before where little more than duplicates of Zoe's blade. _This_ _one_ is all mine," Kaze tells her, raising the blade and preparing to destroy Geisha.

"If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than your puny cyber brain can conceivably imagine," Geisha smirks at her, despite her condition.

"Sorry, I've seen those movies, and you're no Jedi!" Kaze snarls, first beheading Geisha, and then slagging her, and her parts, along with the warehouse, with her Fire Blaster. "_Now to see if I can find Zoe, and let her know about Maizy_"_, _Kaze thinks, as she turns away from the water front.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, little Mazinger!" Geisha's voice rings out, followed by the sound of metal being warped and torn on a massive scale.

"What the Fuck!" several people, Kaze included, yell in shock as they turn toward the noise, and end up watching as a tanker ship at the docks is destroyed from the inside out.

With a flash of a colossal blue/white energy blade, and the shriek of torn metal, Red Geisha returns to the battle, this time armed with a one hundred foot tall super robotic body!

"How do you like me now?" she laughs, her left hand sliding into her arm, and her entire lower arm becoming an energy cannon that she points at the defiant K-Girls.

"Kaiser _NOVA TACKLE!_" Kaze bellows. The command sets her power booster to its highest setting, resulting in shimmering energies becoming visible over her entire body as a flaming corona. In a blazing streak, she smashes herself into, and _through_ the side of Geisha's energy cannon, ruining the weapon itself, but doing little to damage Geisha's massive new body.

"I think it's time you had a time out," Geisha snarls at her, back handing her like a fly as she comes around again, and sending her on an uncontrolled tumble through several buildings, where she finally comes to a stop, only to have a much abused wall crumble on top of her unconscious form.

Only her left forearm is left free of the debris.

"Oh my god," Jura whispers as she and the twins watch the final parts of the battle play out during their approach. When Kaze is smashed like a tennis ball, Jura is barely able to keep from screaming. As they approach her crash area, she snarls at Sera, "Land. NOW!"

Sera and her sister share a look, before dropping from the sky, and letting Jura go pull Kaze from the rubble. "Stay with her, I'm going to go find Zoe," Sera tells Kera, before dashing off.

"Hurry," Kera radios after her. Then she goes to stand behind Jura as she slowly pulls the crystal dagger from her neck, snapping the thin, yet incredibly strong chain holding it.

"I was hoping that these _damn_ visions would never come true!" she snarls as tears flow freely down her face. "First Maizy, now you," she continues to talk to Kaze's inert form. "That means that Zoe is around here somewhere face down in a crater full of water. I've failed to keep this all from happening. Somehow I had the chance to stop all this and I blew it," she growls, while Kera quickly passes on the information about Zoe. "But like daddy said, I'm not going to be afraid of my power. It's time I accepted it all," she adds, turning a hateful look on Geisha, where the giant is toying with the other K-girls, by peppering the area around them with a Gatling cannon concealed in her shield.

"Sera just found Zoe!" Kera blurts out, shocked by the fact that she can literally see fire in Jura's eyes.

"Good," Jura answers her. "Now I need you two to go help the other girls, and keep her distracted while I get to the water. I'll take it from there," she orders, while she bends down and gently places her amulet into Kaze's hand, and carefully wraps her fingers around it.

"But, how can you think you can take on _that _all by yourself?" Kera demands, pointing at Geisha.

"Trust me. Now GO!" Jura orders as she sprints away from Kera and toward the nearest pier.

"Damn K-girls, they're all insane," Kera mutters darkly as she calls her sister, and they both fly toward the other girls. Kera unleashes her strongest attacks, while Sera calls the still operational mecha girls in the group to pass along what little she knows about Jura's plan.

"Oh look, more targets," Geisha laughs as she stops shooting at the trapped K's for a moment, and turns her fire on the twins as they head toward the others.

"Graviton _NOVA!_" Kera yells, as a gravity lens forms in front of her. When the energy from her shoulder cannons and head beam pass through it, the energy is magnified, by several orders of magnitude. The resulting beam is almost as large as Geisha's face, and manages to scorch her appearance, as well as knock her off balance.

The other K-girls waste no time is helping out, the massed attacks from the remaining girls just enough to tip the balance, and send Geisha crashing into the harbor, raising a small tidal wave that almost manages to collapse the damaged buildings the girls are fighting from.

"If she wasn't pissed at us before, she sure as hell will be now," Gabrelle mutters, getting several nods of agreement as Geisha picks herself up out of the harbor, and takes a threatening step toward them.

The glowing, boiling waters behind her go unnoticed, except by the k-girls she is so intent on taking out of the fight.

Hitting the end of the pier, Jura dives forward and swims as quickly as she can toward Red Geisha's position in harbor. Once she finds her titanic crimson legs, she dives toward the bottom, and retreats within her mind.

"So it's finally time is it?" her shadow self smirks as she appears in the mindscape.

"You already know the answer to that," she shoots back.

"True, but I do like forcing you to admit it," the darker part of her mind laughs.

"This isn't funny," Jura snarls at herself. "That crazy bitch is going to kill, or worse, everyone! I'm the only one that can take the fight to her now. And I need you to do that."

"Is this going to turn out like our _last_ deal? The one where we became partners, rather than you on the outside and me always trapped?" her dark side demands.

"I've kept to that deal. You know damn well I don't like to fight, and that you revel in it. After those last few brawls, no one is crazy enough to start anything with us, so you haven't had a chance to come out and play. But if you'd quit bitching, I'm not even planning to force you to tone things down for this! I _WANT_ her totally destroyed, and that is right up your alley," Jura tells her.

"That it is," her dark side agrees.

Instead of taking each others hand this time, Jura draws her darker self into a hug.

Jura's eyes snap open again (barely a few seconds have passed) as a blue glow surrounds her body. She lets out a scream as the energies intensify to the point of it actually causing her pain. Then she starts to grow as the energy crackles back and forth across her body. By the time she erupts through the surface, and the process stops, her scream has devolved into a roar.

The roar of the King of Monsters himself.

"…The _HELL_ is that?" Armorra calls, pointing to the spot behind Geisha where the harbor is glowing and the water is starting to surge upward as something huge underneath rises faster than the water can flow out of the way.

Several jaws drop in mingled shock and horror as they all hear the distinctive roar ring out, and more join them when they realize that this time, the leviathan is one of their own.

"I hope she's not still made over that little ambush I pulled on her," Gabby mutters under her breath.

"Jeez-us, jacked up, monkey fucking k-RIST!" Giganna yells in surprise when she gets a look at the bright colored hair. "I don't know what the girls been eating, but I wish to hell she'd _share_!"

A streaking flash of rainbow colored light announces the arrival of two more players in this little drama.

"You alright, Lyrai?" her older sister asks.

"Just a little tired, Pyra," the brightly colored moth girl answers as her appearance becomes less streamlined, and more like that of the other mothras.

"Oh, crap! It looks like we're too late!" Pyra snarls in disgust, as she catches sight of Geisha, and the newly super-sized Jura.

"No, there's something different going on! Their fighting! That red bitch isn't in control!" Lyrai cheers as Jura unleashes a radioactive blast that would have done Godzilla himself proud, managing to burn off Geisha's left arm with her opening salvo.

"Looks like we might just pull this off after all kid," Pyra agrees, angling them toward a touchdown with the other gathered k-girls to watch the fight.

Then things get ugly. At least for Geisha.

"And now it all becomes clear," Geisha smirks at Jura. "I had wondered how you managed to survive something that destroyed that lab so completely. I just never thought that it was you that had destroyed it. Your file was rather repetitive about you disliking violence," She finishes, turning her gatling cannon on Jura.

Jura roars again, this time in pain, as the shots force her back a staggering step. Her injuries heal almost instantly, as her healing factor is almost the equal of Godzilla's own at this size. Before Geisha can prepare her next attack, Jura unleashes her own, her spinal plates flashing as she calls the power from within, and unleashes the radioactive blast.

"Gah!" Geisha yelps in surprise, as the raw power of the beam takes her left arm off several feet below her shoulder, leaving a molten stump. _"It's a good thing I ordered them to leave out the pain sensors when I ordered them to build this body,"_ she thinks. _"But I can't believe that I'm being defeated! And by _this!"

Geisha moves in on the attack, her energy bade appearing, as she drives it into Jura's gut, causing the G-girl to roar in pain once more.

"Didn't like that very much, now did you," Geisha snarls, reveling in causing pain to her opponent.

Jura's answer is to grab Geisha arm, and force the blade away from her. Geisha is shocked as Jura pulls the arm sideways, rather than removing it to do the least amount of damage. Then she sees that everything in the blades wake is healed almost as soon as the blade is past. Before she can add any of her other weapons to the attack, Jura unleashes her bio-electric shockwave. At point blank range, Geisha takes the full force of it, energy arcing across her form as she struggles to reroute her systems to compensate for such a massive and direct power surge.

Jura doesn't give her time to recover as her plates start to glow once more.

"Oh shit! Everybody _DOWN!_" Gina orders, knocking as many people as she can reach flat on their bellies as she sees the glow on Jura's back shift from blue to red.

Geisha is finally ready to return to the battle when Jura ends it. Her Spiral Fire attack blows Geisha's head apart, then proceeds to melt her body in half, from neck to crotch.

Once Jura stops the beam, the water rushes back in, and a bank of fog grows around her from the super heated water and metal.

After taking a second to make certain that her foe is indeed down for the count, Jura throws her head back and roars in victory for several minutes.

"Owww. Who dropped the building on me," Kaze mutters, as her systems start coming back on line. Rolling over to get back to her feet, she's surprised to find that Jura left her amulet with her. "She hasn't taken this off since we told the Mothras about her dream," Kaze whispers to herself, wondering what the hell is going on. Jura's roar catches her attention immediately, and when she sees what's become of her lover, she suddenly understands everything that Jura had hinted at. "Oh god, please don't lose it baby," Kaze whispers, checking to see if her flight pack still works. Finding that it's good enough for short flights, she takes off, just as Jura takes a step toward land.

"Hot damn! Chalk one up for our side!" Cyganna grins, completely forgiving Jura for taking her out so easily when they had fought.

"Oh, no. She isn't going to do what I think she's going to do is she?" Megan asks, clearly scared.

"What are you talking about?" Sumegi demands, turning away from Jura to look at the Megalon girl.

"She's about to pull a Godzilla on us!" Gabby yells, as Jura starts moving toward the shore.

And right toward the assembled k-girls.

"Looks like it's our turn," Sera tells her sister over their private channel.

"I really hoped we'd never need to do this," Kera answers. "And I never wanted to have to do it against a friend, let alone a lover."

"I know, but if we don't do it, then she's going to level half the town, if we're lucky, and there's really no guarantee that she's still in there. We haven't heard a word out of her since she popped up over there. Just roars," Sera reminds her as they take off and stop at a point midway between Jura and the others.

"_WAIT!_" Kaze yells on every radio channel she can access, as well as with her voice amped up to the point that several remaining windows (there aren't that many survivors among them at this point) explode form the volume.

"Glad you're still alive," Kera grins at her.

"Please tell us you have a plan," Sera says, in a pleading voice.

"I'm the plan. You two are the backup," Kaze says as she flies past them making a beeline for Jura.

"Why do I suddenly think our plan was better?" Kera asks, looking more worried by the second.

Going as quickly as she can, Kaze stops and hovers directly in front of Jura's nose, just far enough out that Jura can see her without crossing her eyes.

"Jura, I know you're still in there somewhere," Kaze tells her, when the Kaiju sized k-girl stops and regards her for a moment.

"Come on girl, we don't want to have to fight you," Kera says, moving up next to Kaze.

"Please Jura, Come back to us," Sera adds, coming in on Kaze's other side.

"I told you two to back me up," Kaze snarls across the radio.

Jura tips her head to the side, as if thinking about their words, before roaring in their faces.

"You're letting the power use you! Fight back! Take back your control!" Kaze yells after she manages to stabilize her flight.

Jura stops again, and seems to think about that. Then her back begins to glow.

"Damnit! You have the POWER! It's your CHOISE! Are you going to come back to us? OR LIVE AS A BEAST?" Kaze roars as she jets right up between Jura's eyes and slams the crystal dagger into her flesh.

There is a blinding flash, and both Kaze and Jura are falling toward the harbor when they are both snatched out of the air.

"So nice of you to drop in," Kera laughs as she gets a better grip on Kaze's armpits.

"Nice work," Sera adds, cradling Jura against her as they turn back toward the assembled k-girls.

"I'm just glad it worked," Kaze admits, relieved to see Jura back to her normal size.

"Me too. Thanks for the wakeup call," Jura adds in a tired voice. Before she passes out, she whispers "I love you."

Sera grins at that and passes it along for her, before they land.

"This was not one of our better days," Cyra mutters, deftly maneuvering a souped up speed boat out of the other side of the harbor and toward open sea, where she has arranged an air lift for them.

"Agreed," Red Geisha admits, sitting up and throwing the cloth that was concealing her body away. "What where our other losses?"

"The warehouse is a total loss, all the prisoners escaped or where rescued, the tanker is totaled, as is your super-sized body, and Spyra was wrecked. I've got her head hooked up to some car batteries to keep her going until we can transfer her brain into a fresh body," Cyra answers. Then she jerks a thumb at the bloody and bandaged pair that are still out. "And these two seem to have run into the same pair that gave you so much trouble."

"How did you manage to come through unscathed?" Geisha demands.

"Pure dumb luck," Cyra mutters bitterly. "I left Spyra with Kumi when the attack started, and went to check on the kids. They had already busted up the containment dome and had three mechs in there who's power levels made me look like a tinker toy. I turned back to get Spyra, and found that Crystal and the blue haired one had found her while I was gone. I salvaged what I could, and took off before they noticed me. Found a pickup not too far away, and after stealing a few batteries for Spyra, I went looking for the other two. Found them beaten and bloody, so I threw them in the back, and headed for the docks. We got there in time to see you bring the big one out to play."

"Ah, so you saw that brutal defeat," Geisha says dejectedly.

"No offence ma'am, but that wasn't a defeat. It was a slaughter," Cyra tells her. "I'm just glad that trick with the burst transmission works."

Geisha is prepared to vent her ire at Cyra, until her last comment. "Yes, beaming my mind into a waiting cyber brain/new body is an excellent way to keep surviving," she agrees in a smug voice.

"About the only thing it looks like we are going to salvage from this besides information, is that they are all going to think you're dead," Cyra admits, trying to put the best spin on things she can, given the circumstances.

"Yes. I'll let them think that for a while. After we have a new plan, and have replaced our losses, we will remind them that red bamboo is very difficult to get rid of!"

"Yes ma'am," Cyra grins, the prospect of revenge lighting her mood as much as it does Geisha's.

"How are they doing?" Gina asks Meo as the moth girl leaves the room where Crystal put Kumi.

"Better," Meo answers. "Kumi is finally responding again, so I hope that she will make a full recovery."

"As much trouble as they cause me, I'm glad that the damage wasn't permanent," Gina admits.

"As am I. Now, I need to find my next patient," Meo agrees, before nearly falling on her face.

"Oh no you don't!" Gina tells her as she catches her. "It's time for the doc to recharge herself, before she drops from exhaustion," she orders as she slings one of Meo's arms over her shoulder, and guides her to another room.

"Got your roommate here," Gina calls as she bumps the door open with her hip.

"Good. I was starting to wonder if she was going to ignore me until I was skating again," Des grins from her place in bed.

Gina helps Meo over to the bed before leaving, the sounds of the lovers making out following her as she closes the door.

Gina starts down the stairs to the main floor, when Kera catches up to her.

"How are you holding up?" the mech girl asks.

"Little tired, but I can keep going longer than most of them. How are the repairs coming in the basement?" Gina returns.

"Kaze was all patched up shortly after we got back," Kera tells her. "We figure Zoe will be back online any time now. Maizy is the problem."

Gina winces at that. "Yeah I heard she got busted up pretty bad," she admits.

"They almost didn't make it in time," Kera admits. "Another five minutes, and she would have been lost. As it stands, they still don't know if they can save her body or not."

"At least she has the option of getting a new one," Gina reminds her. "If not for Kaze and Jura, there would be a lot of us in body bags right about now."

"Don't forget the others that came to the rescue," Kera reminds her. "If not for Milenna and Zoe sharing an open channel, you never would have gotten that backup when you needed it so badly."

"True, although I'm trying very hard to forget that part," Gina smirks at her. "Owing the bully brigade pretty much sucks."

"Have you had a chance to rest yet?" Kaze demands as Gina and Kera enter the basement.

"I wanted to check on these two first," Gina tells her, looking in on Zoe and Maizy.

Zoe is laid out like a corpse, with a few wires running from her platinum hair to a nearby monitor.

Maizy is worse off by far, but Megan and Milenna keep comparing what they are finding within her ruptured body to the few notes that Kaze could find in the computer on "Ryoko".

"Take it easy," Gina whispers, putting a hand on Kaze's shoulder. "If _those_ two can't put her back together better than ever, than no one can."

"Thanks," Kaze tells her, offering up a tired smile.

"No problem. How's our little titan doing?" Gina asks.

"Tired. Apparently _that _little trick drains almost all of her energy. She's going to need a couple of days of rest, and a nugget or two of the heavy stuff," Kaze informs them. "But our ever thoughtful teacher made sure to bring about a half dozen care packages over with her. So that means there are enough for you to recharge too," She adds, forcibly placing one of the radioactive containers in Gina's hand.

"Thanks," Gina nods. "I think I'll go find where the room Titania and Angie are sleeping is. And thank you again for offering up your place so we could keep everyone together until we are back on our feet."

"Don't worry about it. We have enough other things on our plate," Kaze answers, her attention going back to Maizy once again.

Kera and Gina share a look, before turning and heading back up the stairs, leaving Kaze to stand her vigil alone.

"How's it going in here?" Kera smirks, as she sticks her head into Jura and Kaze's room.

"I've felt better," Jura tells her with a faint smile from the bed.

"And I'm beginning to enjoy this show. Who knew that they could make a cartoon about an action movie actor so entertaining?" Sera adds, sitting in a chair near the bed.

"Yeah? What's it called?" Kera asks, opening the door wide enough to enter.

"Jackie Chan Adventures," Sera answers, grinning at Kera's reaction.

"I should have known," Kera groans rolling her eyes.

"You expected otherwise?" Jura smirks.

"Well, at least we know that you're feeling better," Kera smiles.

"How are the others?" Jura asks, her smile fading behind her concern. "Your sister won't tell me anything, other than both Zoe and Maizy made it to the repair bay before their backups gave out."

"Well, Kaze is already back up to full power," Kera tells her. "I'm still amazed at the amount of raw power that girl has. Anyway, she's downstairs with the others. She's pretty much said that she's not leaving them for anything less than another emergency."

"Sounds like her," Jura smiles.

"Zoe has been repaired, for the most part. We're pretty much just waiting for her software to recover from the power surge Geisha dumped into her," Kera continues. "The egg heads expect her to wake up any time now."

"That's good to hear," Sera adds. "How is Kiryuu doing?"

"Katsura took all three of them back to the SDF base for repairs. We haven't heard anything since they left, but I expect them all back soon enough. Those three where designed to fight K-Girls after all," Kera answers.

"And Maizy?" Jura nearly chokes, images of the little robots shattered body flashing through her mind.

"That's the not so good news," Kera admits. "The two M's down there are still trying to sort out what little they could find on her original construction. But at the moment….It's looking like they are going to have to build her a completely new body. And that is going to take them a while. But on the plus side, Crystal did manage to get the kids back here in time to save her mind, so she will still be herself when she finally gets to come back online."

"That's something at least," Jura breathes a sigh of relief, not able to imagine the mansion without the pint sized terror running rampant.

"Come on, Cheer Up! Or we will molest you until you can't help but smile!" Kera threatens, earning her a smirk from her sister.

"Somehow I don't think that is anywhere on the list of things Milenna said she was allowed to do until her strength returned," Sera retorts, crossing her arms over her normal armored chest plate (as opposed to her Gravion armor).

"Party Pooper," Kera shoots back, sticking out her tongue, before grinning at Jura's laughter.

"Thanks you two. I needed that," she smiles, leaning back against the head board.

She is asleep before she can even realize she is that tired.

"Urk! Owe. Anyone get the I.D. of the Kaiju that stepped on me?" Zoe groans as her systems begin coming back online.

Kaze is by her side in an instant, quickly drawing her into a hug.

"Thank whatever gods you want to name, I am _so_ glad that you're finally back!" Kaze tells her.

"Last thing I can remember…Geisha has my weapons! We have to find her and stop her!" Zoe blurts out, as the final moments before she was knocked offline come back to her in a rush.

"Easy! Take it easy, and listen," Kaze tells her, forcibly making her lay back down on the table. "First off, you are in _no_ shape to go out picking a fight with anyone, let alone the bitch that blasted you out of the sky with your own trademark attack," Kaze continues, smirking as she adds, "And anyway, I cut her fucking head off, and slagged her with my fire blaster."

"Good," Zoe grins.

"Of course, then she somehow came back, this time in a giant body. Smacked me around like a tennis ball," Kaze continues, enjoying watching Zoe's eyes widen in shock.

"Please tell me that she is gone, and that body was destroyed. And be honest while doing it," Zoe begs.

"Jura blew her head off, then slagged the remains," Kaze grins.

"Jura? How did our little wall flower get the power to take down something the size of a super robot?" Zoe asks.

"Well, the jury is still out on the _how_ she does it, but it seems that Jura has the ability to grow to full Daikaiju size," Milenna tells her, leaving Megan to keep working on Maizy. "Unfortunately, her mind seems to devolve as her size increases. After she defeated her opponent, she was about to go on the standard Kaiju rampage through town, when this nutcase, and her two friends got in the way. I'm still not sure about _everything_ that happened, but it's too much of a coincidence that Jura reverted to normal, right after Kaze punched her between her eyes."

"I didn't punch her," Kaze whispers. "I just reminded her of who she really is."

"As long as everyone is alright, I'm not going to worry about the details of how it all played out. At least not for a while," Zoe tells them. "How are the kids?"

"Nuri and Immomu are fine, and none the worse for wear from being snatched like that," Milenna tells her.

"And Maizy?" Zoe demands, Milenna's avoidance of mentioning her not having gone unnoticed.

"You strong enough to get up now?" Kaze asks in response.

"How bad is she?" Zoe demands, sitting up and unplugging herself from the monitors.

"You'll need to see for yourself," Kaze tells her.

"How long do you two plan to keep us here?" Pyra growls at Giganna and Gabby.

"We aren't keeping you here at all," Giganna retorts. "Milenna asked that you stay until she or Mandy could come and talk to you."

"And Gina thought it might be a good idea if someone kept an eye on the both of you, since none of us knows anything about either of you," Gabby adds in her most surly tone. "Aside from you obviously being Mothras."

"Pyra, Calm down. You know full well that you would do the same things in their place," Lyrai tells her.

"Doesn't make it any easier to deal with," Pyra grumbles, before returning to sit on the bed with her sister.

"Giganna, do you mind if I steal Gabby for a while?" Cyganna butts in, leaning around the partially open door.

"_YOU!_" Pyra snarls, leaping back to her feet, as flames cover both of her arms.

"Um, did I say something offensive?" Cyganna asks, confused about Pyra's reaction.

"I destroyed you once, monster, and I'm _damn_ sure I can do it again!" the fiery Mothra declares, as she begins advancing across the room toward the cybernetic monster girl.

"I don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about buggy, but I _never_ back down from a fight! Bring it!" Cyganna calls back, reaching over her shoulder for her blades.

"Oh, shit," Giganna mutters, quickly hitting the speed dial on her cell phone.

Megan absently answers her phone, "I'm a little busy right now, could you call back in a few hours?" She suddenly give the little hunk of plastic and circuitry her full attention as Giganna quickly tells her what's going on. "Crap, crap, crap," she mutters as she quickly moves away from Maizy, and toward the room where Zoe is recovering.

"Is she really that bad?" Zoe asks, near tears as she opens the door.

"Problem upstairs!" Megan blurts out when the door opens in front of her. "The new Mothra's are picking a fight with Cyganna!"

"What new Mothra's?" Zoe demands.

"On it," Kaze says, immediately contacting the twins over the radio.

"She's so cute when she's asleep like that," Kera grins, as she and her sister stand together watching Jura.

"Yes she is," Sera agrees.

Both sisters jerk in surprise as Kaze contacts them with news of what's going on.

"Move!" Sera hisses urgently, pushing her sister ahead of her as they rush out the door, while trying to avoid waking Jura.

"You talk a good fight, for a moth. Do you really think you can take me?" Cyganna taunts, clashing her blades together as she and Pyra circle each other.

"Can't you stop her?" Gabby demands of Lyrai.

"I'm the little sister. She barely listens to me when she's calm, no way in hell she's going to listen to me right now," Lyrai answers.

"This is not going to make Zoe very happy when she wakes up," Giganna mutters, shaking her head in disgust.

Then the door is ripped off of its hinges by the twins arrival, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I strongly suggest that the both of you calm the fuck down, and behave," Kera tells them both.

"Yeah like she's going to listen to a mech over me? Please," Lyrai smirks, as the flames on Pyra's arms grow more intense.

"I've been challenged, and I'm not going to back down until she's bleeding on the carpet!" Cyganna growls, not taking her eyes from her opponent.

The twins give each other a brief nod, before blasting both of the girls with their head beams. When both Cyganna and Pyra give them a look that clearly demands, "What did you do that for?" Sera tells them coldly, "We asked you politely to behave. You refused, so we had to insist. If you continue to try and wreck this house, we will be forced to take more…forceful…measure to keep the peace."

"That won't be necessary, ladies," Kaze growls as she enters the room behind them, towering over everyone there. "Because if they don't knock this shit off right this second, I'm going to use their skulls for maracas!" she snarls, managing to keep her voice to a level that is clearly heard in the room, but doesn't bother any of the others currently recovering in the house.

"Who do you think you are?" Pyra demands, getting back to her feet, and stomping up to Kaze. Then backing up several steps so she can look her in the eyes without twisting her neck so badly.

"Me? I'm no one special, really," Kaze tells her. "But since I live here, My family got busted up pretty badly last night and are just now starting to recover, my girlfriend is in a room a few doors down, also recovering from saving all our asses, and you where invited along at _my_ request, I suggest you show a little respect. Before I kick your ass out….Through the wall," she finishes, leaning down until her face is level with Pyra's.

Pyra takes a good look into those steadily brightening eyes, and nods, "I can do that." Then she turns on her heal and moves over to the bed, resuming her seat.

"You going to give me any lip?" Kaze demands as Cyganna picks herself up.

"She backed down, that's enough for me," Cyganna answers, removing her blades and storing them in her harness. "This time."

"Make a note," Kaze tells her as she turns her back on the group. "While you are a guest here, there will be _no___fighting. I don't care if you want to go out to the back corner of the property and kick the shit out of each other, but the first one to pick a fight under this roof is going to answer to me. And I _won't_ be playing nice."

And with that last word on the matter, Kaze leaves them alone once more.

"C'mon, before you get into any more trouble today," Gabby smirks, grabbing Cyganna's arm and dragging her out of the room.

"Wow. That was different," Lyrai says into the sudden silence.

"My god," Zoe whispers in shock as she gets her first look at Maizy's remains.

"It's not nearly as bad as it could have been," Megan tells her. "Her mind is intact, we just had to remove it from her body. Just to make sure that nothing bad happened while we worked on her."

"Where is she?" Zoe demands.

"I set up this to keep her mind occupied if she came back online while we are working," Milenna explains, pointing Zoe toward a strange stand hooked to a monitor. Supported by the stand, is the contents of Maizy's braincase.

"She's still off line, but the monitor will turn on automatically, and a program is all set up to keep her busy while we keep working on the repairs," Megan adds.

"Your sure she's still in there?" Zoe asks, worried still.

"Yes. Immomu and Nuri wouldn't leave her until I got here, and they made sure to inform me that when they finally got her hooked up to the life support, the readings indicated that she still had a few minutes to go before her backups gave out. Unless something happened between the time she shut herself down to conserve power, and the time the kids got her hooked up, she is still in there," Milenna tells her.

Zoe lets out a sigh of relief at that. "Alright. How are the repairs coming then?" she asks.

"That's where we start hitting the snags," Megan admits. "We have searched, with Kaze's help, and we just can't find what we need to restore her to the same little cybot she was before."

"Can't you modify things that would work for me and Kaze?" Zoe asks, shocked that after all she's been through a lack of spare parts is what is keeping her sister from returning to them.

"To some extent we already have," Milenna tells her. "Kaze found us some spare optics, but we had to slightly adjust them so that they would work with her systems. But things like this linkage here," she says, pointing out an interface point that has been removed from Maizy's upper arm. "There is nothing else like it in the house. I'm afraid the best we are going to be able to do is use parts from this one, and the one in the other arm, and hope that there is enough between the two to recreate a functional one."

Zoe takes a deep breath, before letting it out. Then she calmly asks, "So what do you suggest? I want my sister back."

"I suggest that we restore what we can, and modify what we can't," Milenna tells her.

"Alright. Tell me what is too damaged, or lacking parts, to repair, and I will help design replacement components for her. I may not be the Professor, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let her go like this," Zoe tells them.

"Um, if I may," Megan shyly butts in. Then she slides a paper with the blueprints to a new mechanical arm over. "I, uh, drew this up once we found out that we'd only be able to restore one of her arms to its old functionality."

Zoe looks over the design with a critical eye, before asking, "Where did you get the idea for this?"

Megan gives her a little smile and answers, "I overheard some of the freshman talking in the library a while back about a game character who could absorb the powers of defeated enemies and use them himself. They even had some pictures, and I took a quick look as I walked past. While I don't think we have a chance of giving her that "power mimic" ability, I believe we _can_ make her new arm into a multi-purpose tool and weapon for her."

"And you can make it look just like her old arm?" Zoe asks.

"No," is the immediate answer. "I was planning to revamp the armor on her old arm to match the appearance of the new one."

"Will it affect her "rocket punch" weapons systems?" Zoe asks, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"It shouldn't, but until she is back online and we have a chance to test fire, I really can't say for certain," Megan answers.

"What kinds of things are you planning for the new arm?" is Zoe's next question.

"Um, I was hoping to leave that up to you and Milenna," Megan answers.

"I'll need to give it some thought, but I think I can come up with some things you will approve of," Milenna tells Zoe.

"I have a few ideas myself. I think we should both make a list, then hammer out the details," Zoe tells her.

"Agreed," the teacher nods. Then she adds, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you seem to be taking this far better than I would have expected you to."

Zoe gives her a smirk, and answers, "You're forgetting about my past. I've been in war, and I know just how well most plans hold up once you run into the enemy. While I can't say that I'm happy about finding out that we can't just fix her, I can't fault either of you for offering to do your best to bring her back to us."

"Why don't you give us a list of the equipment that is too damaged to be repaired, and we will see about redesigning new stuff for all those systems," Kaze adds, as she rejoins them.

"Get everything sorted out?" Zoe asks.

"Yeah, and the only damage was to the door to that room. I'm calling it a win," Kaze answers. "Oh, and I really think you should go talk with those two as soon as possible," she adds to Milenna.

"I'll get right on that," the gel like alien responds, her sarcasm missed by no one.

"Actually, go ahead and get it out of the way," Zoe tells her. "We can start working up alternatives, while you deal with whatever it is, and then we can work out the details when you return."

"Alright. If you would lead the way?" she says to Kaze, who merely nods, and leads her back up to the room with Pyra and Lyrai.

"How long do you think this will take?" Zoe asks Megan.

"I don't know. The stuff you guys have down here is amazing, but even with Milenna I can't see this happening in less than a month," the Megalon girl answers.

"Sooner than I was afraid of," Zoe tells her. "So what else needs to be revamped, replaced, or just flat scrapped and something new put in to replace it?"

It takes closer to three months to bring Maizy back on line.

"Oh, man. I feel like crap," Maizy groans. "Wha?" she mutters when she is suddenly surrounded by cheering.

"Welcome back," Zoe tells her as Kaze helps her sit up.

"Maizy!" her friends squeal as they barrel in and glomp her.

"Hey guys," she smiles at them. Then her last few memories come back to the surface. "What happened? How long have I been out?" she suddenly demands, turning to her sisters.

"Easy, hotshot," Jura tells her, reaching past her friends to lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder and give a little squeeze. "You've had one long nap. But we needed to get you patched back together. Everyone is fine, and you managed to save these two, even as wrecked as you where. You did good." Jura adds, moving to stand behind Immomu and Nuri.

"How long?" she asks again, suddenly not really sure she wants to know.

"It took us three months to get your act back together," Zoe tells her.

"And don't worry about whatever project you've had going on the computer," Kaze adds. "Nuri has been over here every day, with the exception of the week after the attack, keeping things going for you."

Maizy turns back to her "crew" with a smirk. "She has, huh?"

Nuri just smirks back and nods, tears of joy in her eyes at having her friend back again.

"My systems don't feel the same as before. So what did you change?" Maizy demands, turning back to her sisters.

"There where a few problems with fixing you," Zoe admits. "So we repaired what we could, and replaced what we couldn't. Unfortunately, we had to do a lot more of the second than I'm really happy about."

"You've only got one rocket arm now," Kaze tells her, pointing at her left.

"So my right is just a regular arm?" Maizy asks, lifting her right arm up to her face for a closer look, while attempting to access whatever might be in there.

"Not hardly," Jura smirks.

"What gives? It's like I can make it move, but I can't even scan it's systems?" Maizy growls.

"That would be because I locked your new systems, so you wouldn't accidentally trigger any new weapons before we could tell you about them," Zoe informs her.

"Still don't trust me?" Maizy smirks. "Never mind. When are you going to let me start learning what I can do now?"

"Tomorrow," Kaze answers.

"We figured you'd like to get caught up with your friends today," Jura adds.

"Works for me," Maizy grins, then tries to run a systems check on her flight pack. "Awe, man…..she slagged my flight pack too?"

Jura shoots both Kaze and Zoe a look, before looking back down at Maizy.

"Hold on. I'll enable that one for you. Just watch yourself, cause it isn't anything like your old one," Zoe tells her, sending a set of signals to Maizy that unlocks her ability to access her flight pack.

Maizy lets out a low whistle as she gets her first look at the systems and capabilities of her new gear. Then she shoots Kaze a smirk, and says, "And you thought I was hard to catch before?"

"You're welcome," Jura smirks at her. "Kaze, Sumegi, and I did the design work for you on that."

Maizy is about to thank her, when her look suddenly darkens and she growls, "You let the anime freak design some of my new parts?"

"Careful squirt," Kaze growls back at her. "She made a suggestion, and showed us something, and we thought it was a good enough idea to check into."

"But…But…she's an anime _freak_!" Maizy blurts out. "You _like_ anime Kaze, but I swear they used that stuff to _program _her!"

"Maizy, trust me. Once you get the hang of it, you'll like it better than your old one," Zoe tells her. "And you _where_ all excited about it until you found out Sumegi was involved."

"….fine. Let's go girls," Maizy says to the other juniors as she hops off the table.

After the three head upstairs, Zoe, Jura, and Kaze share a look, before they all break into giggles.

"God, I didn't realize how much I missed her!" Jura laughs.

"Heh, I couldn't agree more," Kaze grins.

"It's like we've been running at half power or something," Zoe agrees. "It's nice to have the family back together."

"It's nice to be part of a family," Jura agrees.

"The place wouldn't be the same without you either," Kaze tells her, pulling her into a one armed hug.

"So what's first?" Nuri asks after they make it to the main floor.

"First, I'm going to go see what that anime freak convinced them to install in me," Maizy growls. "Then I want to see what's been happening with the site."

With no warning, she spins, and hugs both Immomu and Nuri.

"And I want to thank you two. You didn't have to stick with me while I was crashed like that," she adds.

"Yeah, like we could just abandon your projects while you where stuck being a paperweight? After you got so badly busted up trying to keep us safe? I think you need to go back down there and have them check your head again," Immomu tells her.

"Thank you, no," Maizy smirks, leading the way out to the back yard.

"You ready?" Nuri asks her, as Maizy takes a couple steps beyond them.

"Now or never," Maizy mutters, as she activates her flight pack.

"Heh, I knew she wouldn't be able to resist," Kera says over her shoulder as she watches the three juniors from an upstairs window.

"She's testing it out?" Sera asks, getting up from watching one of Jura's movies to join her sister.

"There's our little angel," Kera grins, making sure to patch her last comment through to Kaze and Zoe as well.

"Maizy….They made you an angel," Immomu gasps, awed at the two seemingly feathered wings that erupted from her back when she brought her flight pack online.

"Not quite," Maizy tells her, staring at her shadow as she flexes her new flight equipment. "But I think I'm going to have to owe Sumegi an apology if this works the way it's supposed to."

"Well, quit screwing around, and try it out!" Nuri orders her with a grin.

"Don't mind if I do," Maizy grins back over her shoulder, raising her new wings to their fullest extension.

With a massive downward thrust, Maizy leaps into the sky.

"_Damn. Zoe was right, I _am_ going to need to practice with this new gear,"_ Maizy thinks as she takes in just how quickly she had ascended with what she thought was minimum power. _"Let's see what else these things can do,"_ she grins as she suddenly curls the wings around her body, dropping like a stone. Her friends yell at her to pull up long before she actually does, barely skimming the ground as she climbs back into the sky. Maizy then starts weaving between every tree and statue in the yard, pulling moves that she had never been able to with her old flight gear.

"This is _awesome!_" she enthuses as she lands back by Immomu and Nuri.

"How can you keep those big wings inside of you like that?" Immomu asks as the wings retract back within her.

"That is one of those things that you just don't worry about," Nuri tells her.

"She's right. If you think about it too much you get a headache," Maizy agrees. "Now that I've had my test drive, let's go see what you've been doing with my web site."

"How are things progressing?" Geisha demands as she enters the command chamber of her hidden headquarters.

"About as well as can be expected," Cyra informs her. "We are slowly replacing the Golden Guard that we lost back on the island. Spyra has declared herself fully operational once again, and the other two have long since healed their damages. We have begun construction of another "Titan" for you, as well as taken steps to proceed with your current plans."

"Show me," Geisha orders, moving over to the bank of monitors, as Cyra pulls up the images displaying the construction of another super robotic body, before switching to scenes displaying several containment cylinders, each with a uniquely designed mechanoid within. "Excellent. If I can't defeat Zoe and her family by myself, then I will simply have to call on my old allies to assist me," she says with a malevolent grin.

"It might be a good idea to get a picture of her face, when she realizes that her old team has turned against her," Cyra smirks.

"Oh, I couldn't agree more. It will certainly be one for the scrap books," Geisha tells her, before turning to leave. "Find one of the humans to continue monitoring things. I have…need….of you."

"Yes, Mistress," Cyra grins.

And that is where I'm going to stop this one, before I go and change things too much with characters that DON'T belong to me

Next time out, will be "Tales of a Future Past" as I enlighten you to the world that Pyra and Lyrai are from.


	3. Chapter 3

Alright kiddys, this one is going to fill in some of the blanks from "No Good Deed", mainly starting with the story of Pyra and Lyrai, and coving some of the aftermath in the wake of the Red Bamboo assault. With all the new characters I've got simmering on the back burners, you know that I'm not nearly done with my K-verse stories yet.

So without further ado….ON WITH THE SHOW!

"Urk! Owe. Anyone get the I.D. of the Kaiju that stepped on me?" Zoe groans as her systems begin coming back online.

Kaze is by her side in an instant, quickly drawing her into a hug.

"Thank whatever gods you want to name, I am _so_ glad that you're finally back!" Kaze tells her.

"Last thing I can remember…Geisha has my weapons! We have to find her and stop her!" Zoe blurts out, as the final moments before she was knocked offline come back to her in a rush.

"Easy! Take it easy, and listen," Kaze tells her, forcibly making her lay back down on the table. "First off, you are in _no_ shape to go out picking a fight with anyone, let alone the bitch that blasted you out of the sky with your own trademark attack," Kaze continues, smirking as she adds, "And anyway, I cut her fucking head off, and slagged her with my fire blaster."

"Good," Zoe grins.

"Of course, then she somehow came back, this time in a giant body. Smacked me around like a tennis ball," Kaze continues, enjoying watching Zoe's eyes widen in shock.

"Please tell me that she is gone, and that body was destroyed. And be honest while doing it," Zoe begs.

"Jura blew her head off, then slagged the remains," Kaze grins.

"Jura? How did our little wall flower get the power to take down something the size of a super robot?" Zoe asks.

"Well, the jury is still out on the _how_ she does it, but it seems that Jura has the ability to grow to full Daikaiju size," Milenna tells her, leaving Megan to keep working on Maizy. "Unfortunately, her mind seems to devolve as her size increases. After she defeated her opponent, she was about to go on the standard Kaiju rampage through town, when this nutcase, and her two friends got in the way. I'm still not sure about _everything_ that happened, but it's too much of a coincidence that Jura reverted to normal, right after Kaze punched her between her eyes."

"I didn't punch her," Kaze whispers. "I just reminded her of who she really is."

"As long as everyone is alright, I'm not going to worry about the details of how it all played out. At least not for a while," Zoe tells them. "How are the kids?"

"Nuri and Immomu are fine, and none the worse for wear from being snatched like that," Milenna tells her.

"And Maizy?" Zoe demands, Milenna's avoidance of mentioning her not having gone unnoticed.

"You strong enough to get up now?" Kaze asks in response.

"How bad is she?" Zoe demands, sitting up and unplugging herself from the monitors.

"You'll need to see for yourself," Kaze tells her.

"How long do you two plan to keep us here?" Pyra growls at Giganna and Gabby.

"We aren't keeping you here at all," Giganna retorts. "Gina asked that you stay until Milenna or Mandy could come and talk to you."

"And Gina thought it might be a good idea if someone kept an eye on the both of you, since none of us knows anything about either of you," Gabby adds in her most surly tone. "Aside from you obviously being Mothras."

"Pyra, Calm down. You know full well that you would do the same things in their place," Lyrai tells her.

"Doesn't make it any easier to deal with," Pyra grumbles, before returning to sit on the bed with her sister.

"Giganna, do you mind if I steal Gabby for a while?" Cyganna butts in, leaning around the partially open door.

"_YOU!_" Pyra snarls, leaping back to her feet, as flames cover both of her arms.

"Um, did I say something offensive?" Cyganna asks, confused about Pyra's reaction.

"I destroyed you once, monster, and I'm _damn_ sure I can do it again!" the fiery Mothra declares, as she begins advancing across the room toward the cybernetic monster girl.

"I don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about buggy, but I _never_ back down from a fight! Bring it!" Cyganna calls back, reaching over her shoulder for her blades.

"Oh, shit," Giganna mutters, quickly hitting the speed dial on her cell phone.

Megan absently answers her phone, "I'm a little busy right now, could you call back in a few hours?" She suddenly gives the little hunk of plastic and circuitry her full attention as Giganna quickly tells her what's going on. "Crap, crap, crap," she mutters as she quickly moves away from Maizy, and toward the room where Zoe is recovering.

"Is she really that bad?" Zoe asks, near tears as she opens the door.

"Problem upstairs!" Megan blurts out when the door opens in front of her. "The new Mothra's are picking a fight with Cyganna!"

"What new Mothra's?" Zoe demands.

"On it," Kaze says, immediately contacting the twins over the radio.

"She's so cute when she's asleep like that," Kera grins, as she and her sister stand together watching Jura.

"Yes she is," Sera agrees.

Both sisters jerk in surprise as Kaze contacts them with news of what's going on.

"Move!" Sera hisses urgently, pushing her sister ahead of her as they rush out the door, while trying to avoid waking Jura.

"You talk a good fight, for a moth. Do you really think you can take me?" Cyganna taunts, clashing her blades together as she and Pyra circle each other.

"Can't you stop her?" Gabby demands of Lyrai.

"I'm the little sister. She barely listens to me when she's calm, no way in hell she's going to listen to me right now," Lyrai answers.

"This is not going to make Zoe very happy when she wakes up," Giganna mutters, shaking her head in disgust.

Then the door is ripped off of it's hinges by the twins arrival, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I strongly suggest that the both of you calm the fuck down, and behave," Kera tells them both.

"Yeah like she's going to listen to a mech over me? Please," Lyrai smirks, as the flames on Pyra's arms grow more intense.

"I've been challenged, and I'm not going to back down until she's bleeding on the carpet!" Cyganna growls, not taking her eyes from her opponent.

The twins give each other a brief nod, before blasting both of the girls with their head beams. When both Cyganna and Pyra give them a look that clearly demands, "What did you do that for?" Sera tells them coldly, "We asked you politely to behave. You refused, so we had to insist. If you continue to try and wreck this house, we will be forced to take more…forceful…measures to keep the peace."

"That won't be necessary, ladies," Kaze growls as she enters the room behind them, towering over everyone there. "Because if they don't knock this shit off right this second, I'm going to use their skulls for maracas!" she snarls, managing to keep her voice to a level that is clearly heard in the room, but doesn't bother any of the others currently recovering in the house.

"Who do you think you are?" Pyra demands, getting back to her feet, and stomping up to Kaze. Then backing up several steps so she can look her in the eyes without twisting her neck so badly.

"Me? I'm no one special, really," Kaze tells her. "But since I live here, My family got busted up pretty badly last night and are just now starting to recover, my girlfriend is in a room a few doors down, also recovering from saving all our asses, and you where invited along at _my_ request, I suggest you show a little respect. Before I kick your ass out….Through the wall," she finishes, leaning down until her face is level with Pyra's.

Pyra takes a good look into those steadily brightening eyes, and nods, "I can do that." Then she turns on her heal and moves over to the bed, resuming her seat.

"You going to give me any lip?" Kaze demands as Cyganna picks herself up.

"She backed down, that's enough for me," Cyganna answers, removing her blades and storing them in her harness. "This time."

"Make a note," Kaze tells her as she turns her back on the group. "While you are a guest here, there will be _no___fighting. I don't care if you want to go out to the back corner of the property and kick the shit out of each other, but the first one to pick a fight under this roof is going to answer to me. And I _won't_ be playing nice."

And with that last word on the matter, Kaze leaves them alone once more.

"C'mon, before you get into any more trouble today," Gabby smirks, grabbing Cyganna's arm and dragging her out of the room.

"Wow. That was different," Lyrai says into the sudden silence.

"Get everything sorted out?" Zoe asks.

"Yeah, and the only damage was to the door to that room. I'm calling it a win," Kaze answers. "Oh, and I really think you should go talk with those two as soon as possible," she adds to Milenna.

"I'll get right on that," the gel like alien responds, her sarcasm missed by no one.

"Actually, go ahead and get it out of the way," Zoe tells her. "We can start working up alternatives, while you deal with whatever it is, and then we can work out the details when you return."

"Alright. If you would lead the way?" she says to Kaze, who merely nods, and leads her back up to the room with Pyra and Lyrai.

"So you two are the new ones, eh?" Milenna asks as she stops in the smashed doorway, and gives each of the girls within a searching look.

"So who the hell are you?" the older Mothra girl with the flame patterned wings shoots back.

"She always so belligerent?" Milenna asks the younger Mothra girl.

"Not always, but often enough for it to stop bothering me all the time," she answers.

"Alright. Care to tell me your names?" Milenna asks her, ignoring her sister for the time being.

"I'm Lyrai. They combined "Light" and the first part of "Rainbow" for it," the brilliantly colored girl answers.

"And I'm Pyra," her sister answers, stepping into the center of the room. Her wings suddenly burst into flame as she adds, "I'm sure you can understand how I got the name."

"Quite," Milenna smirks. "I am Milenna, one of the teachers at the school that the K-girls go to.

"Ah, so you're the one they wanted us to wait for," Lyrai says.

"'Bout time," Pyra mutters. "So what did you want to talk to us about?"

"Just some general background information," Milenna tells them. "Like where you are from, the kinds of things you like, why you've chosen now to show up, that kind of thing."

"We're from the future," Pyra tells her, making Milenna's jaw drop open in surprise (and trust me, that takes some doing). We came back in time to warn you all about the Crimson Empress, and what it will mean for all of you, not to mention the world itself, if she succeeds in building her Machine Empire."

"Whoa, slow it down there kids," Milenna orders. "Back up and start from the beginning. I'm going to need to hear the _whole_ story on this I think."

"For us, this all started more than a hundred and fifty years ago," Lyrai tells her, slowly working her hands through several finger twisting forms. When she finishes, she whispers, "Mothra, please help me explain what she will need to know."

Milenna is surprised once more as a shimmering hole appears next to Lyrai.

"It began, long before now. Back when Mazinger Zoe was still part of the military unit known as the Shogun Maidens," Pyra begins the tale, images of what she is speaking about appearing in the shimmering field next to Lyrai.

"I'm aware of Zoe's past. I've also taken the liberty of retrieving all the military records pertaining to the Shogun Maidens," Milenna tells them, holding up a hand.

"Then you are already aware that the mastermind behind the battle last night was the Shogun Maiden known as Red Geisha?" Lyrai asks.

"It was kind of hard to miss, since Zoe informed us about it after the kids where taken," Milenna informs them.

"Ah. Then lets move on," Pyra answers. "In the near future, she will try again. Only this time she will have the assistance of some of your students."

"Not possible," Milenna declares, as images of Bai Xiong and Kazira appear in the viewing portal.

"Unfortunately, it is," Lyrai answers. "The most powerful of the Ghidora's willingly betrays her own clan, in order to bring them into line with what _she_ thinks they should be."

"And the other does it simply for more power," Pyra adds.

"How?" Milenna demands.

"She utilizes "control chips" to modify the girls behavior. Once she has them implanted, they willingly obey her commands," Lyrai answers in a subdued voice.

"And what happened to the betrayers?" Milenna asks.

"The same thing that happened to the betrayed," Pyra tells her. "The Empress is a backstabbing bitch."

"And you're _positive_ that events are going to unfold the way your history has them?" Milenna demands, still not sure she's buying the entire tale yet.

The mothra's exchange a look, before Lyrai answers, "No. Not completely. At least not any more."

At Milenna's questioning look, Pyra adds, "Things have already started to drift away from what we have been told was the way things unfolded."

"Such as?" Milenna asks.

"Well, that big Mazinger for one," Pyra answers. "We've never even _heard_ of her before."

"And the fact that the Crimson Bitch was using her "Titan" class battle body. To the best of our knowledge, she didn't unveil that until well into her plans," Lyrai adds.

"And finally, the girl that finally defeated her," Pyra concludes. "In our time, she was the Empress' most powerful weapon. The mechanicals would sneak her into an area, and then start a battle where they would appear to be at a disadvantage. When the resistance committed additional forces to ensure that we won, they would activate her. She has single handedly wiped out more than half the combatants we've ever been able to claim."

"Jura? Our Jura, who doesn't even _like_ to fight? _She_ is Geisha's most powerful weapon?" Milenna sputters is surprise.

"She was never even heard of, until she appeared at the Empress' side in an early battle, where she was being held off by the mecha girls that she had yet to subvert, and the ones known as Gina and Crystal," Lyrai adds. Then she quietly adds, "That was also the battle where the resistance lost Mazinger Zoe and the Mecha unit known as Kiryuu."

"Things went downhill from there," Pyra adds. "She also found and reprogrammed all her other old team mates from the Maidens. With those skills, abilities, experience, we didn't have much of a chance after that. The K-morphs quickly became a slave race, with the Empress breeding them in a controlled environment."

"How? The K-girls are incapable of breeding with humans," Milenna states.

"There is a way. After she had captured and implanted the girls, she harvested them," Lyrai answers with a shudder. "And there _is_ a bridge between the K's and the humans."

"Kim…." Milenna mutters. "So she used him, and managed to increase the girls numbers?"

"Yes. The first batch included both Male and Female offspring, and they where completely compatible with human physiology," Pyra tells her.

"And all of them took after their "mothers" in what kind of K-morph they where," Lyrai continues. "After that, it was a just a matter of the Empress instigating a controlled breeding system to ensure that their numbers increased as she saw fit."

"At least until our grandmother and a few of the others where freed," Pyra smirks. "That threw a big wrench into her plans."

"Alright. I'm going to want to hear more on this, but you've given me enough to work on for now. "If it's not too much to ask, I'd like for the both of you to remain here for tonight, and I will see to getting you moved to the school dorms tomorrow," Milenna tells them as she stands up. "I will also see to it that you are set up with some clothes more fitting to this time period," she adds, giving the few clothes that the girls have with them a critical look.

"When can we expect you to return?" Lyrai asks, clearly eager to escape the mansion. "It's not that we're ungrateful or anything for them allowing us to stay, but they are machines. And as I'm sure you can understand, we don't have a very deep love of Mecha."

"Understandable. Either I or Mandy will be here by nine o'clock tomorrow morning," Milenna informs them, before turning and walking out.

"Do you really think we can keep it all from happening again?" Pyra asks her little sister.

"Things are already different from the history we were taught. With us added to the mix, I think we may just be able to keep things from following the same path," Lyrai answers her.

"I hope so, Rai. I really do," Pyra adds, leaning back on the bed, and staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

2

"You've done well, child," Mothra tells Jura in the dream realm, clad in her human seeming.

"Couldn't have swatted that tin bitch better myself," Gojira adds, with a wide grin on his human seeming's face.

"I still lost control," Jura admits in shame. "If not for Kaze, I'd probably still be rampaging around."

"Love is more powerful than anything else in existence," Mothra tells her. "And all she did was remind you of your ability to _choose_ how you wish to face your destiny."

"I'm just sorry we lost your gift in the process," Jura apologizes.

"You didn't loose it kiddo. It's right here," Gojira tells her, lightly tapping her forehead.

"He speaks the truth. The amulet is now a part of you child," Mothra confirms with a gentle smile.

"It's in my head?" Jura blurts out in shock. "That thing is just too big to be inside my head!"

Gojira laughs at her, while Mothra explains, "It was forced into your flesh while you where in your giant size. At that size, it's not much more than a grain of sand to you. And the proportion of things remained the same when you reverted to your true size. You _do_ carry the amulet within you, but it is so small right now that there is no way at all that it can cause you harm."

"And with any luck, having that thing in your head will help you keep things under control if you need to use that ability again," Goji tells her.

"So have I managed to change how things are going to turn out? Or is that horrid future still coming," Jura asks, hugging herself and shivering.

The two spirits of the ancient monsters share a glance, before Mothra tells her, "Things have changed, this is true, but as a whole your battle to prevent that fate has just begun. You needn't despair though, for that fate has also sent you some much needed assistance."

"What could that horrid future have to offer us in the here and now?" Jura demands in surprise.

"Two of my children have made the trek back through time, in order to try and prevent the very future you are fighting from coming to pass. They are currently staying in your home, at least for the time being," Mothra informs her.

Staring off into nothing, Goji adds, "You should go now, little one. Your loved ones have seen to it that you should have just about recovered your strength, and there are things that you still need to find out about in the waking world."

"Good journey child, and please tell my children from the future that they don't need to maintain their normal combat readiness all the time, but that they shouldn't become too lax either. I will leave it to you, and your friends, to teach them the proper balance," Mothra adds.

"Alright. If they've come this far to help us, the least I can do is treat them as a friend," Jura nods in agreement, before she begins to fade from the dream realm, and the presence of the spirits of the two Great Monsters.

"She's come a long way, but do you think she can really change things for the better?" Gojira asks, all pretence of joviality gone from his tone. "This damn magic that is keeping us confined is really beginning to piss me off. If we had our freedom, then there is no way that this damn ro-bitch would ever have a chance of bringing this future into being."

"Alone, she wouldn't have a chance," Mothra concedes, a weariness in her tone. "But thankfully for all of us, she's hardly alone in her battle. With those that have thrown their love and support behind her, she has a better then even chance of achieving the goal we have set for her."

"I still don't like leaving the fate of it all in the hands of someone else, but I suppose we could do much worse than the little one and her adopted family and friends," Gojira admits.

"Quite true. And with us offering her guidance from here, she has an advantage that her opponents can't duplicate," the Guardian Spirit of the Earth reminds him.

"Very true. As much as I hate the plan, I guess all we can do is wait and see," The spirit of the earths Will to Survive admits, flames dancing in his golden eyes.

"Uhg. Why is waking up always such a pain?" Jura groans, as she slowly sits up in bed. Looking around, she is slightly surprised to find that she is alone. Then she sees that someone has left her a present, in the form of two of the highly radioactive "care packages" laying open on the table next to the bed. "Well, that explains why no one else is in here with me," she smirks to herself. Climbing out of bed, she is pleased to note that the only reason she seems to be sore is from a lack of activity.

Silently moving through the house, she heads for the kitchen.

"_Radioactivity may keep my body going, but it sure doesn't fill my belly,_" she grins as her gut rumbles in agreement. Moving to the fridge, she quickly grabs a few things, and throws together a quick sandwich. As she puts the unused food back in the fridge, she notices a note stuck to the door with her name on it.

"_What's this?"_ Jura wonders as she holds the sandwich in her mouth, freeing her hands to open the note.

While the contents depresses her slightly, she is glad to know that her friend hasn't been lost.

Putting the note down, and staring off into space, she thinks, _"Good luck Leona. Until things draw you back into our realm, be well, and stay safe."_

Finishing her sandwich, Jura prowls the house for a bit, until she finds Kaze sprawled out on a couch. With a smug little smile, she slips in under her, leaving the mecha girls head pillowed on her lap. With a loving smile, Jura slips off to sleep once more.

3

"Jeez, am I the only one that can hear the damn doorbell?" Zoe growls as she comes up out of the basement and moves to open the front door. "Like I don't have enough to do with helping get Maizy back together…" she mutters as she whips the door open.

"Is this a bad time to collect the new girls?" Mandy asks with a arched eyebrow.

"Sorry," Zoe tells her, forcing herself to calm down. "Come on in. I'll kick some of the others into motion."

"Don't go to any trouble on my account," Mandy tells her as she follows along behind. "Just point me in the right direction, and I'll let you get back to your business. I'm sure you would rather be working on getting the little one back in operation than leading me around."

"I would," Zoe agrees. "But I think I can spare a few moments to lead you to your new charges."

"What happened here?" Mandy asks when they get to a room with the door smashed off it's hinges.

"I'm told the twins got a little rough with the door when they got called to keep one of the new girls and Cyganna from starting a K-Brawl in here," Zoe tells her.

"Yeah, those two knocked both Pyra and the cyber-witch for a loop yesterday," Lyrai adds once they step through the doorway.

"You don't need to sound so smug about it," Pyra mutters.

"I'll leave the three of you to get acquainted then," Zoe says, before leaving them alone.

"So you are the new girls. I'm Mandy. In addition to teaching History at the school, I also seem to end up with most of the orientation duties for you newer students," she says, giving them both a small bow of greeting.

"Pyra, and my little sister, Lyrai," the flame winged girl answers.

"Nice to meet you," Lyrai adds, bowing in imitation of Mandy.

"Well, if there is nothing keeping you here, shall we go?" Mandy asks. "Darcy will be wanting to see you two as soon as possible, so she can get you outfitted."

"Who's Darcy?" Pyra demands.

"The seamstress who specializes in making clothes for those of us who are a bit too far from basic human to wear normal clothes," Mandy answers as she leads them down the hall.

"And afterward?" Lyrai asks.

"I'll take you both to the school, and get you settled into the dorms. Later on, I hope to introduce you to the rest of the mothras," Mandy answers.

"Huh. I wonder how many things it will change if meet our ancestors like that," Pyra mutters under her breath.

"What was that?" Mandy asks as they leave the mansion.

"Nothing much, just thinking out loud," Pyra tells her.

"Later this afternoon, Milenna would like for you to continue your story. She is very interested in hearing more about the proposed timeline you have told her about," Mandy finishes as they head down the street toward town.

"Here we are," Mandy tells the pair as they stop on the sidewalk.

"Where?" Pyra asks.

"The clothes shop," Lyrai answers her, while looking to Mandy for confirmation.

"Right. Darcy should be able to set you both up fairly quickly with new clothes, considering all the other moth girls she takes care of," Mandy adds.

"How many others are there?" Lyrai asks as they enter the shop.

"Lets see…." Mandy trails off as she thinks for a moment. "There is Mina, Meo, Armorra, Beatra, and Eina. But Eina left the Island some time ago after some trouble with the school board."

"There are five other Mothra girls here?" Pyra asks in wonder, their grandmother being the only other moth girl they have ever met.

"Actually, only three," Mandy corrects. "As I said, Eina is gone for the time being, and Beatra isn't a Mothra. She's a Battra. Then there are Immomu and Battamei."

"Who are they?" Lyrai asks as they begin to look around the shop at all the strangely tailored, yet still very nice clothes.

"The little sisters," Mandy answers with a smile. "They are still caterpillar girls though, which is why I didn't count them with the others."

"If the names are any clue, then I'm betting that one of them at least is a little Battra," Pyra smirks as she pulls out a brilliantly white patterned blouse from the racks and looks closely at the pattern of straps on the back. "And if I had to guess at what type of K-girl this was for-" she begins.

"It would be fore one of you lovely moths, of course," Darcy grins as she just sort of "appears" behind the girl.

"AH!" Pyra gasps, jumping and spinning around as she drops the blouse, her hands covered with flames as she brings them up into a defensive stance.

"No!" Lyrai shouts as she quickly puts herself between Pyra and the human.

"I've warned you before that it's not a good idea to scare the crap out of the girls all the time," Mandy mutters, shaking her head with a smirk.

"What are you, brain damaged? I almost incinerated you!" Pyra yells, as shaken by what she had almost done as by the fact that Darcy managed to get the drop on her.

"That would have been unfortunate," Darcy remarks dryly. Turning to Mandy, she asks, "New girls I take it? I'll be needing names and an address to send the clothes. You should know the drill by now Mandy, you bring enough of them here for their first time."

"They will be staying at the school dorms," Mandy answers, while Pyra quenches her flames.

"Please don't do that again. She can sometimes react faster than she can think. It would be bad if she set off a fire blast before she could realize she didn't want to BBQ you," Lyrai tells Darcy.

"I'll try to keep that in mind when I deal with her. But it can be damn hard to break such a fun habit," Darcy answers her with a slight grin.

"You do that to everyone who comes in here?" Pyra demands, still ticked off that Darcy managed to scare the crap out of her.

"You girls, as a rule, can bench press a Buick. I have to get my digs in when I can," Darcy returns. "But for now, come along. I'll show you two to the changing rooms, and I'll get your measurements, before seeing to getting you some clothes that don't look like something out of a "Mad Max" movie."

"Why do I get the feeling that we've just been insulted," Lyrai asks, following along behind Darcy.

"Oh, she didn't insult you," Mandy calls after them as she leans against the counter. "Just your clothes."

"Oh, that's _so_ much better," Lyrai smirks over her shoulder at the dragon woman.

Moments after the three vanish toward the back of the store, Milenna, and another woman enter the store.

"Well, I see you're a bit ahead of schedule," Milenna smirks at Mandy, the light from outside shining through her semi transparent body.

"And I see that you've collected your shadow for the day as well," Mandy returns with a grin. "Are you planning to introduce us, or just wait to see how long we can stare at each other?"

"Hmm…..Three seconds. I actually expected you to last at least half a minute. Oh well," Milenna returns. "Mandy, I would like to introduce you Tina. Tina, this is our History teacher, Miss Mandy," Milenna says, several tendrils of her hair moving back and forth like others would use their hands when making introductions.

"Pleased to meet you," Mandy says, bringing her hands together and bowing.

"As am I. My full name is Vol-Tina, just so you know," the silver skinned woman answers.

Mandy starts as something pokes her in the back. When she turns around, she finds a miniature Robotic Lion standing on the counter behind her.

"Black! I told you to wait outside with the others!" Tina scolds.

Even though it's face can't express it, the lion gives a very credible impression of a look that says, "And? What's your point?"

"Don't you get lippy with me!" Tina growls at the lion. The lion merely shakes its head, before hopping off the counter, and letting itself out the door.

"Well that was certainly different," Mandy says, still surprised by the exchange.

"Sorry about that. Black is a bit of a mother hen, and can't stand the thought of me being out of sight of at least one of them," Tina explains.

"There are more of those?" Mandy asks.

"There are a total of five of those lion drones," Milenna breaks in. "With her background, I was hoping to sponsor her as a teacher. Preferably for the younger girls. I'll be damned if we'll let another incident like the last one happen again."

"Speaking of which, how go the repairs?" Mandy asks.

"We have a lot of redesign work ahead of us," Milenna tells her. "Being the prototype, most of her systems are one of a kind."

"Well, that's going to add to the repair time," Mandy mutters.

"Tell me about it," Milenna agrees.

"So where is this seamstress that you wanted to introduce me to?" Tina asks.

"She is currently in the back with _my_ charges for the day," Mandy answers her. "I expect her to return in a short time."

"So what are your powers? Anything I should be aware of as I make your clothes?" Darcy asks Lyrai as she loops her measuring tape around her chest.

"You'll probably want to take this into account," she answers as Darcy steps back from her.

As the seamstress watches, Lyrai's body changes, her wings shifting from their large round shape, to a more streamlined triangular one. Her white fur shortens, until it is only a few millimeters above her skin, and her antenna change from being forward facing and feathery, to sloped back away from her face and appearing more like flexible golden rods.

"That's a new one," Darcy says, as she walks around the newly transformed Lyrai. "So what did that do, other than make you look like your ready to step into a wind tunnel?" she asks, making a note of the white frill that now covers most of the moth girls head.

"It enables me to use some of my _other_ powers," Lyrai answers, by whispering in Darcy's ear from behind, having vanished from in front of her in the space between heartbeats, and reappearing behind her.

"AH!" Darcy gasps as she spins around, only to find that the girl is no longer there.

"Looking for me?" Lyrai asks, again from behind the seamstress.

"Now I know how you girls feel when I just pop up behind them," Darcy mutters, one hand pressed against her chest so she can feel just how hard her heart is pounding. "So this … transformation… lets you teleport or something?" she asks, trying to focus on business.

"No, I can't teleport. But I can understand how you would make that mistake," Lyrai answers.

Without seeming to move, she is suddenly holding all the clothes she had when she came in.

"Are you magic or something?" Darcy asks in awe, having never seen anything like this girls powers before.

"Nope," Lyrai answers with a grin. "Just fast."

"Super speed!" Darcy exclaims, finally understanding. "You're like the Flash, or one of those other comic book characters! You can move so fast, that my eyes can't track your movements."

"Now you've got it. So what do you have in mind for my clothes?" Lyrai asks.

"Well, first, I'll need to measure you in this form as well. I think your wings shifted from your other one," Darcy tells her, quickly re-measuring the girl. "And now that I know about this," she adds afterward, "I have something in mind that I think you will like."

"I have to admit, I never really expected you to be the one to end up dressed like that," Mandy smirks as Darcy leads the pair back out front.

"Which one of us is she talking to?" the sisters ask each other.

"The one in all the skintight latex," Mandy clarifies. "But I should add that I really didn't expect you see you, and your rather fiery temperament, in such soft shades of blue either," she directs to Pyra.

"True, but they both work well with the girls colorings, don't they?" Darcy asks, proudly gazing at her latest fashion victims.

"The glossy black sets off all those brilliant colors in her wings. It's actually quite amazing," Tina adds.

"Thank you," Lyrai grins. "I really like this stuff. I like the snug feel of how it fits too. I never knew that there where clothes like this."

"Oh? Where are you from?" Darcy asks, surprised by that last comment.

"From someplace where clothes are only made for durability and functionality, _not_ for looks," Pyra answers her.

"Bah, who says that you have to give up looking nice? Almost all the clothes I make here are tough enough to take all but the roughest attacks you girls can dish out without being more than a little dirtied. Such lovely girls dressed in sack cloth. Bleh," Darcy mutters.

"Oh, I think you can rest assured, that once we are done with what we where sent here for, we will make sure that things change where we come from," Lyrai tells the clearly annoyed seamstress.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Jura smiles down at Kaze as her eyes open.

"Morning yourself," Kaze smirks back, while Jura plays with her hair.

"So how are you doing?" Jura asks her robotic lover.

"I'm fine. And I'm going to assume that you've recovered since your out of bed," Kaze answers.

"Last night actually. I'll need to thank whoever left those "snacks" in my room for me," Jura admits.

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of some way for you to repay me," Kaze grins, reaching up and dragging Jura down for a kiss.

"Sounds like Kaze's up," Zoe smirks at the sound of at least one body hitting the floor overhead.

"What makes you say that?" Megan asks, looking up at the ceiling, before turning her attention back to rebuilding the interlink that allows Maizy's arm to reattach after she fires off a rocket punch.

"Placement. That came from the living room, and she was the only one in there, sleeping on the couch," Zoe answers, going back to the design program on the screen in front of her, where she is in the process of working out how to incorporate several tools into Maizy's new arm.

"That makes sense," Megan admits, as she brings over Maizy's arm to test the interlock. "I… I did it? I did it!" she cheers as the arm nearly jumps free of her grip to attach itself to the rest of Maizy's body.

"Sure looks like you did," Zoe grins at her, reaching down to test the interlock for herself. "Nice work," Zoe tells her after a moment, before surprising the bug girl with a hug. "Now to start on the next little bit of her."

"My part on that will have to wait," Megan answers her through a long yawn. "As much as I want to keep going, if I don't go get some sleep, I'm going to fall over."

"You want to crash here? Or head back to your dorm?" Zoe asks.

"Dorm. I need to grab a couple of things and change clothes. I've been wearing these since we all rushed to the docks to help," Megan answers.

"I would suggest adding a shower to your list of things to get while your gone, then, " Zoe smirks, as she leads Megan back up to the main floor.

"I'll take that under advisement," Megan smirks back as they reach the main floor.

After showing Megan out, Zoe goes to check on some of the others before returning to the basement.

"Well, I see our little titan is feeling frisky this morning," Zoe smirks as she leans against the doorway to the living room, where Jura and Kaze are currently wrapped around each other.

"Oh. Um….Morning?" Jura sputters, as she untangles herself from Kaze.

"Morning sis," Kaze grins from the floor, cranking her head back at a nearly impossible angle to look at Zoe.

"Well, if you're going to continue with what I interrupted, I suggest returning to your room," Zoe grins at them. "Otherwise, get yourselves cleaned up. I'd like you to make the rounds and check on everyone who is still here."

"Are the twins still here?" Jura asks as she gets to her feet.

"No, they took "escort duty" with making sure that the others who didn't want to stay last night made it back to the dorms, just incase there was another attack," Kaze answers.

"Who all _is_ still here? I've been downstairs pretty much since I came back online last night," Zoe asks. "The only ones who I know for a fact are gone are Megan, who I just showed out, and the new Mothra girls, who left with Mandy earlier."

"Then it should be down to Meo, Des, Gina, Angi, Titanna, Crystal, and Kumi," Kaze answers.

At the mention of the last pair, Jura snaps to attention and demands, "Was Meo able to do anything for her?"

"What wasn't I told about? Kumi and Crystal weren't at the battle, so how did they get busted up enough to need Meo's help?" Zoe asks, moving into the room and taking a seat facing the pair.

Returning to the couch, Jura and Kaze take turns filling Zoe in on the details of the rescue mission.

"Kumi was pretty much comatose when we got to her, and _that_ took all the starch out of Crystal," Jura tells her.

"I didn't think there was anything short of Kiga that could knock Crystal off her game like that," Zoe says, surprised.

"Well, she will never admit it, but the fact that she was taken just as easily must be eating her up inside as well. Her self image as the baddest bitch at the school took a severe beating while she was a _guest_ of the Red Bamboo Army," Kaze adds.

"She doesn't care about that," Jura argues. "She got a measure of revenge, but her main concern from the time she blew the door off her cell was finding Kumi."

"Crystal is one of the more complex girls at the school. Just when you think you have some idea about how she will behave, you find yet another layer to her," Zoe says thoughtfully.

"Stop, you'll make me blush," Crystal smirks as she and Kumi float down the stairs.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better," Jura says to Kumi.

Kumi just returns a small smile, while Crystal adds, "We hear that we missed a hell of a party down at the docks while I was bringing the kids and Kumi back here."

"You could say that," Zoe returns with a wry grin.

"Hey, what happened to that crystal thing you had around your neck?" Crystal asks Jura, noticing that her amulet is missing.

"It was lost, when we had to get a little drastic about bringing her back to herself after she burnt Geisha's head off," Kaze says, glossing over most of the problems Jura had after going Godzilla size.

"Then let us give you something to replace it," Kumi tells Jura. "In thanks for helping to rescue me."

"And I have just the thing in mind," Crystal grins, plucking a speck from the tip of the crystal at the end of her tail. Turning to Jura she says, "I need you to drip some blood onto this before I start," as she places the lightly glowing seed crystal in the palm of her hand.

"Why?" Kaze demands.

"Because if I'm right, then mingling her blood with my powers will result in the crystal being far stronger than my normal ones. And given what I have in mind, that will be a good thing," Crystal answers.

"Relax. I trust her," Jura tells Kaze. Turning her attention back to Crystal, she smirks and adds, "At least until we are back at school, and things are back to normal."

"Glad that I won't have to completely give up my rep as a hard case," Crystal smirks back.

Shaking her head, Zoe watches with rapt attention as Jura rakes a claw across own palm, squeezing some blood out onto Crystal's hand before the wound closes and vanishes back into her flesh.

"There's the blood, so now what?" Kaze demands.

"Now, _this_!" Crystal snarls, forcing her will into the seed crystal, and guiding it's growth into a shape of her choosing.

"I wasn't expecting the crystal to change colors," Kumi says, as she weaves some of her finest silk into a cord while they watch Crystal work.

"Neither was I, but this _is_ the first time I've tried this with someone else. Normally it's just me when I do this," Crystal returns, as she holds up a translucent blue crystal saber.

"My turn," Kumi says as she brings the hilt toward herself, and begins wrapping the cord around it.

In a matter of moments, they are done, and Crystal floats the new blade to Jura.

"We owe you, and _this_ is just a down payment on it," Crystal tells them. "I just ask that you keep this quiet. My rep has taken enough of a beating lately, and I'd hate for them to think I've gone soft on top of everything else."

"It's beautiful," Jura whispers as she grasps the hilt. She jerks as there is a spark that jumps between her hand and the sword. "It's weird though. It's like I can feel it with more than just my hand."

"We will have to get a scabbard made for it. It's never a good idea to keep a blade naked all the time," Zoe tells her.

"Let me see it again, and I'll take care of that," Crystal tells them as she holds her hand out for the blade. Dropping another seed crystal onto it, she forces that crystal to wrap around the sword, leaving just enough space between the inner surfaces and the blade so that it can be drawn.

Kumi then takes it from her, and proceeds to wrap the scabbard in silk, the same way she had the hilt. "And now, it is protected," she adds, as Crystal floats the package out of her hands, and back to it's new owner.

"Now I just need someone to teach me how to use it," Jura smirks.

"There are several people at the school who you could ask," Zoe tells her. "Half of the human students use weapons in their fighting. I'm sure you could find one of the sword swingers who would just _love_ to teach a cute K-girl how to handle a sword."

"I just bet they would," Kaze mutters darkly, making Kumi grin.

"Do I detect jealousy in that comment?" she asks, slowly warming up to the group, and becoming more like her old self.

"Yes, you do," Kaze informs her. "I'll teach her. I've got all of Zoe's training up here, so it shouldn't be that hard to teach her if she's really willing."

"The Professor used a copy of _my_ sword training to program you?" Zoe blurts out. "It took me months to learn those skills the hard way!"

"Sorry you feel like he cheated, but they where there when I woke up. I didn't have any say in the matter," Kaze answers her.

"Anyway, we are going to return to the dorms," Crystal breaks in.

"We need to see about getting a new room," Kumi mutters.

"Until next time," Crystal tells them, lifting the both of them up and floating them out the front door.

"Things just keep getting stranger around here," Zoe smirks, as she gets back to her feet, and turns toward the basement. "Why don't you guys go check on the others. I'm going back to work."

"Alright," Jura answers, as she and Kaze also get up and head for the stairs to the second floor.

"So? What did they have to say?" Mandy asks as she sticks her head into Milenna's office.

Milenna looks up from her desk, and gives a long suffering sigh, before saying, "They agreed completely. Starting next month, the younger girls will have their own classes here on the campus. They are going to get a much smaller building just for themselves, since for the time being there are so few of them, and only one teacher willing to take them on."

"So they went for allowing Tina to join the faculty?" Mandy asks, entering and taking a seat.

"A combat android with her capabilities, and programmed to protect her charges at all costs? _And_ willing, eager even, to take on the smaller girls? It took them all of two seconds to agree, when I informed them that she would have complete access to the larger school for whatever she needed to get brought up to speed," Milenna answers.

"Then why are you acting like it was a major battle to make them see reason? It sounds more like you laid the cards on the table and they folded," Mandy returns.

"Because of what was waiting for me afterward," the alien teacher explains. "The self defense forces actually woke up long enough to take notice of what happened down at the docks. Given what was used, and the fact that it was nothing more than dumb luck that we came out the winners, they have decided to re-activate one of their old contingency plans."

"Why is it so troubling to you? It will be nice to have someone else take the brunt of the conflict for a change," Mandy returns.

"It's Phoenix Rising," Milenna deadpans.

Mandy is speechless at that, her expression a little "o" of surprise.

"Yes, my reaction wasn't all that dissimilar," Milenna smirks.

"So they plan to reactivate the old defenders. Does Zoe know?" Mandy asks.

"Oh, it's more than that. And much worse. They are planning to reactivate the originals. And they can't seem to find the remaining Maidens. I don't think that the Geisha is truly gone, and I have a sick feeling that she has recruited the rest of her old team to assist her," Milenna tells her.

"Well, that explains why they came to you. They want you to help bring the big boys back online, don't they?" Mandy asks.

"And design a way to move the lot of them, all at once. A ship capable of that is going to be…..what is the word the girls use…Ginormous. It's also going to have to be able to defend itself, as well," Milenna agrees.

"When do they want you to start?" Mandy asks her.

"I'll be getting called in when they hit snags in the process. Until then I still need to assist in putting the little Mazinger back together, and everything else that was already on my plate," Milenna says.

A knock at the door interrupts them, and Mandy smirks, "Speaking of your projects, I do believe yet another of them has arrived. Feel free to give me a call if there is anything I can assist on."

"You may regret that offer," Milenna shoots back as the dragon woman gets up and moves to the door.

When she opens it, the newest mothra sisters are on the other side.

"Milenna will see you two now," Mandy tells them, as she takes her leave.

"Come on in you two," Milenna calls, watching the red tuft of fur at the end of Mandy's long tail vanish through the door.

"Did we interrupt something important?" Lyrai asks as they enter the office.

"Just bringing a fellow teacher up to date on some of the things that have been going on while she was giving you two the grand tour," Milenna tells them, dismissing the whole exchange.

"Who was that mech you where with earlier? We didn't recognize her," Pyra asks, working very hard on reigning in her habitual hatred of mechanical life forms.

"She was a recent arrival on earth. She was a body guard to the royal family on a distant world. During a diplomatic mission they where attacked, and she managed to hold them off until reinforcements could arrive, but she was lost when one of the destroyed ships hyper drives misfired in it's death throws and created a momentary wormhole that sucked her in, and dumped her at the edge of this solar system. After floating through space for years, she finally made it deep enough to get caught in the earth's gravity well. She actually crashed in Canada, but after they realized that she wasn't a threat if you treated her like a normal person, it was decided to send her here, where she would fit in better. We'd love to be able to send her home, but she doesn't have any idea just how far she may have come, or where we are in relation to her home system. Since she can't go home, we plan to make use of her programming, and install her as a teacher. Specifically for the younger girls. Given recent events, her combat training will be a plus, should anyone try for the children again," Milenna tells them.

"Another new player that we've never heard of before. Things are getting farther and farther from the history we know," Lyrai says.

"Speaking of which, I think it's time for more of your story," Milenna tells them, resting her elbows on her desk, and her chin on her joined hands. "And you needn't bother with the "magic window". I've got a good grasp on visualization."

"As you wish," Lyrai answers her.

"To begin with, I'd like to know more about what happened to some of our more powerful students. You have already mentioned the fates of Zoe and Kiryuu, and Bai and Kazira. What happened to Crystal?"

The sisters share a troubled look, before Pyra explains, "Crystal…..was a special case among the girls. Her physiology made it impossible for the control chips to work on her, and she was simply too strong willed to be broken. Eventually, the Empress had a prison constructed on the moon. She had Crystal moved to this prison, and placed the Ghidorah's there as guards."

"They also sent along the one known as Kumi. Since she _was_ implanted, she was meant to keep Crystal in line. Unfortunately, with the chips keeping the girls from reigning in their more base instincts, the more violent minded ones regularly gave her beatings, and subjected her to some of the most humiliating things she had ever been forced to endure," Lyrai adds.

"Eventually, it became too much for her. She finally lashed out in rage, and ruptured the outer hull of the prison dome. Suddenly infused with pure cosmic radiation, Crystal went berserk. The only ones to survive her initial series of blasts where the ghidorah girls. Everyone else died as her corona beams ruptured bulkheads and blast doors, exposing everyone in the prison to hard vacuum. After she …. disposed…of the others who survived the initial attack, she finally came back to herself. When she found the remains of the spider…. She…she ran. She must have covered half of the sea of tranquility on foot, before she fell into a crater that opened into a cavern system at the bottom. She instinctively seeded her route with crystals, so even though she had retreated into her own mind, her body was able to maintain itself. After several years, her body took steps to protect her. A protective crystal grew around her, eventually leaving her sealed within one of her own spires, with several feet of diamond hard transparent material between her and the rest of the universe. She also birthed a race of defenders for herself," Pyra continues.

"She _what_?" Milenna blurts out.

"The Shard. It was nearly one hundred years from the time she destroyed that prison to the time she was heard from again. In that time, they went from simply being guards, to being a race of their own. The Shard possess a hive mind, and their only purpose is to serve what they call "The Mother Crystal". Things would have remained that way indefinitely, except Crystal woke up. Resigning herself to her new state, she began to live through the telepathic abilities of the hive. Unfortunately, they took Crystals desire to know what had happened as orders to go to earth and find out for her," Lyrai takes over.

"That was the beginning of the end for all of us," Pyra adds. "The Machine Empire destroyed the first few of them to make it to the surface. You know how the Crystal of this time reacts to threats, so you can imagine what this caused for us."

"The Shard placed crystal satellites into orbit, and they proceeded to use that power to devastate the empire. The resistance got added to the hit list, when one of them freaked out when one of the Shard got too close. Shooting one was the same as declaring war on all of them," Lyrai adds.

"So you mean to tell me _Crystal_ destroyed the world?" Milenna blurts out in shock.

"Not directly, but the Shard wiped out everyone higher on the evolutionary ladder than a gorilla. We where with the last group, when they found us. Our leader ordered us to escape, and the only way we had, was for me to try the time jump," Lyrai explains.

"What a mess. Well, you will have all our support in helping to keep this disaster from coming to pass," Milenna tells them. "Yesterday, you mentioned that Red Geisha collected and reprogrammed the members of her old unit as part of her plans to take over, correct?"

"Yes, that was one of the first things she did, so she could be certain that she would have loyal generals," Pyra confirms.

"I was afraid of that," Milenna mutters. "Keep this to yourselves, but recently the government wanted to get in touch with the Maidens. Only to discover that they are nowhere to be found."

"She's preparing for her big attack. Looks like the last one was just a warm up," Pyra growls.

"That seems to be the conclusion everyone is coming to," Milenna agrees. "And they don't have the benefit of your knowledge of how things could go."

"At least we won't have to deal with the Shard. They are demons in a fight. How do you fight an army of k-girls who can read your mind and counter your moves before you make them?" Pyra growls.

"Yes, that would make things far more difficult," Milenna mutters distractedly, suddenly remembering the automated lab unit that was launched into orbit last week at her request, and tissue samples of certain K-girls that where on board it for testing. "_Let's hope I didn't inadvertently start something by including Crystal's samples in that,_" she thinks.

"See you guys at school tomorrow?" Gina asks as the last of the sleepover gang head out.

"Some of us at least," Jura answers. "I'm not sure Zoe is going to go back at all before Maizy is back in action."

"I can understand that," Gina tells her, her voice gone quiet as she thinks of her own little sister, and her inability to put things right with her.

"Come on, we all need to go get cleaned up and ready for school tomorrow," Anji says, giving Gina's arm a little tug.

"Thanks for putting up with all of us," Titanna adds with a wave, following after her friends.

"Catch you guys later!" Kaze calls after them, before the both of them return to the house. "So, are you ready for your first lesson?" she asks as they move back toward the living room.

"Huh? What lesson?" Jura asks in confusion.

"On guard!" Kaze smirks, tossing her new saber to her.

"_Now?_ But shouldn't we be doing something to help with Maizy?" Jura blurts out.

"Her condition is beyond what I've got any ability to alter right now," Kaze answers her.

"But," Jura starts.

"I've told you before that I think it's cute, but it's time for class," Kaze grins, leading the way outside. "This will be good for both of us. I still need some practice with restraining my full power."

"So I get to be your practice dummy?" Jura asks, her face serious, but her tone taking the sting out of the comment.

"And I yours," Kaze agrees with a smile as she finds a pair of sturdy sticks. "These will do for now," she grins as she tosses one to Jura.

"Now what?" Jura asks, putting her present from Crystal off to the side, and awkwardly holding the stick.

"You pretend that it's a sword, and you attack me. I want to see what you think would be the best way to swing, attack, and block. I want to find out just where we need to spend the most time, so we can get you some skills worth the name as quickly as we can," Kaze answers.

"Then lets see what I know," Jura grins, bringing both hands to grip her "sword" and swinging a blow aimed to catch Kaze in the gut.

"Not too shabby," Kaze grins, catching the stick with her own, and forcing it back. But are you fast enough to deal with this?"

"Eep!" Jura squeaks, catching the first three blows Kaze rains on her, before the forth slips past and smacks her in the butt.

"Not too bad at all. We'll need to work on your reaction times, but you've got an excellent grasp on how to fight like this. Must be all the movies," Kaze smirks.

"You might be the teacher, but payback is still a bitch," Jura grits, startling Kaze as she suddenly goes on the offensive, raining blows of her own on Kaze.

"You can't hope to beat me like this," Kaze tells her, calmly blocking every swing, and parrying every lunge Jura dishes out to her.

Then Jura's tail slams her feet together and knocks her on her ass.

"You where saying?" Jura grins, as she offers Kaze a hand up.

"I was saying, that I needed the training as much as you do," Kaze returns lamely, accepting the hand up.

"Again?" Jura asks, bringing her weapon up.

"You've been watching more than just Jackie Chan movies, haven't you?" Kaze demands, Jura's last comment ringing bells in that context.

"I might have seen a couple that I didn't tell you about," Jura grins.

"Like what?" Kaze asks, moving in with a diagonal slash from upper right to lower left.

Jura spins out of the way of the slash, and lunges, actually tagging Kaze. When her stick makes contact, she quickly jerks it into a zigzag pattern.

Looking down at the faint "Z" on her shirt, Kaze can't help but smirk.

"Well, that certainly answers that. And makes it a little easier, since that is the same style of sword that you've been given," She tells her. "But just remember, that there is a big difference between playing, and fighting," Kaze tells her, suddenly attacking for real, snapping Jura's stick off just above her hands when she tries to block. "But I've got enough for now to work out exactly what we will need to start working on. I'll see about getting some wooden swords from the martial arts club after school, so we can work with something a bit tougher than dead wood."

"I'm glad you're not mad at me, cause that really stung," Jura mutters, rubbing her chest where the snapped stick hit her.

"Better get used to it," Kaze tells her. "There's going to be a lot of that kind of stuff happening before we are done.

"This is going to take forever," Zoe mutters, giving Maizy's body one last look, before she heads up to her room for the night. "Spiteful bitch. There was no reason to do that to the poor kid," she seethes as she moves through the house. "I just wish I could believe she was actually gone. But the fact that she came back with that giant body, _after_ Kaze supposedly destroyed her…she has some way of keeping her mind alive, even after her body is destroyed," she muses as she strips out of her clothes and gets ready for bed. "This isn't the end. Knowing her, this was just the first round. And after the bloody nose Kaze and Jura gave her, she's going to pull out all the stops next time she shows her face," she mutters as she slips into bed.

The remainder of the weekend passes without anything of note happening.

"So do you two have any idea why Mandy wanted to talk to us before classes today?" Armorra asks, as the three Mothra sisters work their way to the dragon lady's office.

"No. She was most mysterious," Mina answers.

"There isn't much point in speculating, when the answers are only a few more feet away," Meo tells them, before knocking on the door.

"Come in," Mandy calls.

"You wanted to see us?" Mina asks as they enter.

"I'd like to introduce you to some distant relatives of yours," Mandy explains, as the girls close the door behind themselves.

"Oh? Where are they from?" Meo asks, as another knock sounds from the door.

"Come in," Mandy calls once more.

When the door opens once more, Pyra smirks, and asks, "Is there enough room for all of our wings in here?"

"You will only be here for a moment," Mandy informs them. "Girls, the one with the red orange fur is Pyra, and her younger sister, Lyrai. I'm sure you two can figure out which one is Armorra, and the one with the green hair is Meo. Leaving Mina, the oldest of them. And this concludes today's introductions."

As the five moth girls file out of the office, Lyrai asks, "Is she always so abrupt?"

"Only when she has a lot to take care of," Mina answers.

"So, where are you two from?" Armorra asks.

"From a long ways away," Pyra answers with a sad look.

"Home sick?" Meo asks.

"More like wishing we still had a home to go back to, and a way to get there," Lyrai mutters.

Any further comments are cut off by Mina's cell phone ringing.

"Yes? Their _what_? Yes. Yes I understand, and I will tell them. No, it will not go any further than us. Yes, I agree, Immomu doesn't need to know about this yet, if ever. Thank you. Farewell," is what the others hear as Mina takes the call.

"So that's what a cell phone is. I've wondered about them since we got here," Pyra says.

"Yes, I imagine that in the time you where born that toys like these didn't exist anymore, since your enemies could trace you through them," Mina answers her.

"What did you just say?" Armorra demands, while Meo just looks surprised. As do Pyra and Lyrai.

"We need to find someplace private to continue this chat," Mina orders, cutting off any further questions until they are alone.

"Hey you two!" Jura yells, waving at the twins.

"Sorry we didn't call you guys yesterday," Kera says as the foursome assembles.

"We kind of got roped into some official stuff, since the government keeps tabs on us still," Sera adds.

"In that case, we'll cut you some slack," Kaze smirks, before the group turns toward their first class of the week.

"I still can't believe that their story is real," Armorra mutters as she gets her lunch.

"It is the truth. The sooner you accept it, the better," Mina returns.

"Payback time, you cyber bitch!" Rings through the lunch room, before the loud crash of a body slamming through one of the large windows that open on the commons.

"Cyganna! You're going to pay for that bug eyes!" Gabby snarls, before yelping in pain.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Pyra snarls over her shoulder, as Gabrelle carefully holds her badly burnt hands before her. Then she leaps out the smashed window after Cyganna.

"This will not end well," Mina mutters.

"Des, hold her still," Meo orders, as she carefully takes Gabby's hands, and begins to chant over them.

Gabrelle hisses in pain, and attempts to jerk her hands free, but Des moves in from behind and locks a firm but gentle grip around her forearms. "Easy, Gabby. I know it hurts, but let her work," Des tries to sooth the redhead as Meo works on healing her charred hands.

"We better get outside, and see how bad this is going to get," Kaze says, as the sound of explosions and shouts filter back into the lunch room.

"We should have expected this," Sera mutters as they rise and start to move through the crowd toward the outer doors.

"Yeah, after their almost dust up back at the house, we really should have seen this one coming," Kera agrees.

"Let's go," Jura adds, bringing up the rear.

"No mechs to hide behind this time out, cy-bitch!" Pyra snarls, flames dancing along the surface of her wings, and forearms.

"Buggy, I don't know what kind of stuff you've been sniffin' but it's got your brain scrambled good, if you think you can take me," Cyganna retorts, quickly locking her blades into place, and preparing for Pyra's next assault.

"Still more talk than anything else," Pyra smirks, before launching fireballs at Cyganna.

"That all you've got?" Cyganna sneers, slapping the balls away with her blades.

"Oh, hardly," Pyra smirks, snapping her wings forward and sending a virtual _wall_ of fireballs at the gigan-morph.

"Now, that's more like it," Cyganna grins, firing her cluster beam, and detonating the center of the swarm. She then rushes through the conflagration, firing cluster beams in Pyra's general direction, hoping to keep her distracted so she can close in enough to use her blades.

"Your aim sucks," Pyra tells her, causing pillars of flame to erupt from the ground, forcing Cyganna to take to the air.

"Yours isn't much better," Cyganna returns, launching her left hand set of chains at the flaming moth. "Get over here!" she snarls with a malicious grin as the chains catch Pyra by surprise, and trap her right arm against her body as they wrap around her.

"You fell for that last time, too," Pyra grins as Cyganna pulls her within reach. Suddenly the chains are glowing, from the amount of heat Pyra is generating. They melt at a point between the pair, and Pyra quickly shrugs herself free.

"Now, I'm going to gut you," Cyganna snarls in anger.

"I don't think so," Pyra retorts, grabbing both arm blades, and channeling her flames into them.

"AAHH!" Cyganna screams, as the flesh of her hands starts to char. She quickly releases the blades, holding her steaming hands in front of herself as Pyra smirks.

"Too hot for you to handle?" she gloats.

"Tag. _Your it!_" Cyganna snarls, as sections of her shoulder armor shift, releasing a pair of guided razor disks.

"Not this time," Pyra answers, throwing Cyganna's arm blades at the disks, causing them to explode. Stealing a move from Cyganna, Pyra flies through the explosion, and grabs the other girls tail.

"Hey! Le' go!" Cyganna yells as Pyra starts to spin her.

"If you insist," Pyra grins, releasing her when she is lined up with one of the school buildings.

Cyganna is caught in a tumble, and can't recover in time to prevent her crash through the roof.

"Too easy," Pyra grins to herself.

The sound of heavy electric motors and the humming of saw blades cut's her self-congratulations short.

"Payback time!" Cyganna snarls as she explodes back up into the air, her hands covered with her double chainsaw weapons.

"What did I do, knock her into her weapons locker?" Pyra mutters in disgust at seeing her opponent armed once more, and more heavily than before.

Cyganna doesn't bother to keep up the banter, unleashing several cluster blasts before shooting another pair of razor disks into the conflagration.

"Haven't you figured out yet that I'm not bothered in the least when these blasts go off?" Pyra gloats.

Then the disks rip through her wings.

"I have had just about enough of this," Mina informs everyone near her in disgust.

"Want our help to break it up?" Kaze asks, swapping out her uniform for her armor.

"No, we will handle it. But thank you for the offer," Mina returns with a smile, before turning her attention back to the aerial battle with a scowl. "Armorra? I would like you to stop Cyganna. Lyrai? You will be responsible for keeping your sister from making this worse."

"How do you plan to break them up long enough for us to get in there?" Armorra asks, her battle visor dropping into place over the upper part of her face.

"Like this," Mina calmly answers as a M-32 multi shot grenade launcher appears in her hand. Quickly pointing it at a spot between the airborne pair, she pulls the trigger, before taking to the air herself.

"Where in the name of Mothra did you get that?" Armorra demands, quickly catching up to her eldest sister.

"You act as if you have never seen me use my magic before," Mina returns as the flash/bang round goes off between the combatants.

"Remind me to stay on her good side," Lyrai mutters as she quickly flies toward her stunned sister and gets in her way, much as Armorra is with Cyganna.

"Sorry, but we need to call this fight, on account of Mina needing to yell at your sparring partner," Armorra smirks as Cyganna regains her vision and catches sight of the silver armored moth.

"Like Hell! She attacked me for no reason! I'm going to take it out of her orange furred ass!" Cyganna snarls.

"Think about this for a second, before you do something stupid," Armorra tries again. "Mina is quite possibly the calmest, most level headed person in this school. And SHE is pissed off at Pyra right now. So much so that she is using her powers to conjure weapons like the grenade launcher she used to break you two up. Wouldn't you rather sit back and see what happens, rather than ending up fighting all of us?"

Cyganna struggles with the logic, before finally lowering her weapons. "This better be worth it, or else I'm going to rip into her again anyway," she growls as she floats up into Armorra's face.

"I think we are all about to see a side of Mina that no one has ever suspected she has," the silver moth returns.

"Rai, get out of my way! I need to finish that bitch off! I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up with these holes in my wings," Pyra snarls at her sister.

"Can't do that sis. Someone wants a word with you, and she's not going to take "no" for an answer," Lyrai returns.

"Quite right," Mina says as she floats up behind Lyrai, causing the rainbow hued girl to move to the side. Focusing her attention on Pyra, she demands, "And just what do you think you are doing?"

"I would have thought it obvious to all. I was in the process of destroying a monster. One that killed countless innocent people before she met her end, at my hands," Pyra returns.

"You need to pull your head out of that hole you normally sit on, and start thinking with it, rather than using it as a blunt instrument," Mina returns tartly. "The crimes you plan to execute her for have yet to occur! She is _not_ the slave of the one you had fought for your entire life, but here and now, she is just as you are. Another innocent who is in danger of having her life and freedom taken away by someone who has a problem with humans and seeks to use us as the best way to kill them all!"

"She is still dangerous, and more likely than not to stab us in the back!" Pyra retorts, only to have Mina slap her in the face when she tries to force her way past to continue her brawl.

"I truly don't know how hard your life was, but you need to be set straight on something. _We_ are _Mothra's_. We don't pick fights. We don't go out of our way to get involved in them! We are defenders! We are healers! Yes, we fight when we must, to defend others, and ourselves, but never _just for the hell of it!_" Mina hisses into Pyra face from inches away.

"You will never understand what we have been through-" Pyra growls back, only to be cut off by Mina's cell ringing with the same tone as right after their meeting with Mandy.

Opening the phone with a practiced flip of her wrist, Mina listens for a moment, before her eyes narrow at Pyra. "It's for you," she says with a strange look in her eye, as she hands the phone over to her distant relative.

"Yes?" Pyra says, after figuring out how to hold it properly. It takes a few moments, but most of the color suddenly drains from her features, and Mina and Lyrai have to grab her shoulders as she starts to sink toward the ground.

"Who the hell is on the other end of that phone? I've never seen a scrapper like her fold up like that before," Cyganna says in shock as she and Armorra watch events unfold.

"To be honest, that is the first time I have ever seen Mina hand that phone off to anyone when that ring tone sounds. We have our suspicions, but Mina won't confirm or deny anything," Armorra answers, as she and Cyganna follow the others down at a safe distance.

When the group lands once more, Meo, Des, and Gabriele are waiting for them, with the other students farther back. Pyra no sooner hands the phone back to Mina and turns away, when she is confronted with Meo. The healer of the group gives her fiery relative yet another tongue-lashing before turning her back on her and stalking off toward her lover.

"Are you alright?" Gabby blurts out as she runs up to Cyganna.

"I'm fine. Little singed around the edges, but it's nothing to worry about," the Gigan morph answers.

"How are your hands, Gabby? Meo manage to fix you up?" Armorra asks.

"Yes. And next time you can rest assured that I'll hit her with a chair before I try to grab her," she answers, scowling over her shoulder at the flame hued mothra.

The three watch expectantly as Pyra slowly walks toward them, with the other Mothra's at a respectful distance behind her.

"I think I'll go stand with my sisters," Armorra tells the pair, before walking around Pyra.

"I want to apologize. My actions were out of line, and drawn from bad information. I hope that you can forgive me, and we can both put these incidents behind us," Pyra says, the entire speech obviously not her idea. Her deep bow at the end was obviously ordered by Mina, who gives a slight nod afterward.

"I oughtta…." Gabby growls, drawing a fist back, before Cyganna grabs her arm. With a single slow shake of her head, she orders her friend to drop it. At least for the time being.

"I don't like you. And I will most likely hold this against you for longer than is healthy for either of us. But since _something_ scared the crap out of you, during that phone call, and your entire family ganged up on you to put an end to this, I'm willing to call this one a draw. But mark me on this. If you start _ANYTHING_ again with me, or my friends, you are going to be lucky if I leave enough of you in one piece for greenie over there to put back together!" Cyganna snarls, referring to Meo. "Oh, one last thing," she adds getting up close with Pyra. One blindingly fast uppercut later, Pyra is on her butt with a split lip, while Cyganna rubs her knuckles in a satisfied manner. "There. _Now_ we're even."

And with that as the last word, she and Gabby turn and walk off, the crowd parting before them, and Gabby lugging one of Cyganna's chainsaws.

"Well, that was humiliating," Pyra mutters, as she picks herself up off the ground.

"I trust you will stop with making unprovoked attacks on others?" Mina asks, her tone still far colder than those who know her are used to.

"Oh, I got _that _message, loud and clear," Pyra answers, shuddering slightly at the memory of that phone call.

"Good. Then I believe it's time for afternoon classes to resume," Mina says, with a slight smile, and her tone regaining the general warmth she is known for.

"Never expected to see that," Jura says as they watch the moths leave the commons.

"I never knew she had it in her. Mina can be downright scary when she wants to be," Kaze agrees.

"I never would have expected any of them to be able to create weapons like that with their powers," Sera adds.

"No kidding. Who ever heard of k-girls using weapons that they didn't come naturally equipped with?" Kera adds.

Kaze and Jura smirk at that one, before Jura adds, "Just when you think you know the rules, someone goes and re-writes the book on you. Now c'mon, or we'll be late for class."

"So this is the kendo teams' clubhouse?" Jura asks as she and Kaze stop outside and look the place over.

"Sounds that way," Kaze returns as the sounds of wooden weapons contacting each other reaches them.

The pair enter and wait near the door as they watch the various club members run through their practice routines.

"So what brings a K-girl and one of the most powerful robo-girls in the school to the kendo club?" comes from behind them as the door opens once more.

"Someone wants to learn how to use a blade," Kaze answers turning to face the boy leaning against the door frame behind them.

"You I take it?" he asks, turning to Jura. "Since I've heard that she's already a fair hand with one."

"Yes," Jura answers shyly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you will have to do it someplace else. Last time we let a K-girl train here, we were constantly putting the place back together," he tells them. "She was constantly stomping the hell out of us as well, always calling us weak, and putting down our training. We finally got fed up, and voted her out. She leveled the club house on us for that. Since then, we don't allow them to join, or even to practice here."

"But…..But I'm nothing like that!" Jura sputters. "I'm a complete beginner! I don't know much of anything about swordplay."

"As I said, I _am_ sorry, but after the last time, it's highly un-likely that the others will go for letting her in," the boy explains.

"Could we at least borrow some equipment? That way I could help her away from here?" Kaze asks, clearly getting mad that Jura is being judged for another's actions.

"Aside from personal gear, the Clubs stuff doesn't leave the clubhouse unless we are involved in a tourney. I'm sorry, but there really isn't any reason for you to remain here, so I'm going to ask you politely to leave. We really don't want any trouble," he finishes.

"Very well. Let's go Jura," Kaze seethes, as she grabs Jura's hand and pulls her out the door.

"Thank you for understanding," he sends after them, before Kaze slams the door hard enough to shake the wall.

"Enter," Milenna calls toward the knock on her office door.

"I hope you can spare a few moments for me," a gruff male voice asks, causing Milenna to snap her head up from her desk and stare at the newcomer.

"Major General Yoshi Takahara. To what do I owe the honor?" Milenna returns, not sure she's happy to see the man or not.

"Well, since I've been informed that you will be assisting with operation Phoenix Rising, I thought I would drop by and let you know that I've been given overall command of it," he answers.

"Well, that _is_ a surprise. Is the military actually using their head for a change?" Milenna shoots back, making the standard joke about "military intelligence".

His answering smirk tells her that he caught the joke, and isn't offended. "Let's just say that with my background, it would have been the height of stupidity for them to put anyone else in charge," he tells her. Then he adds, "And I made certain that everyone who had a say in it knew that as well."

"Have a seat," Milenna grins, taking a liking to the man. "So niceties aside, what are you really here for? While I don't doubt your stated reason for this visit, I know full well that most generals are kept too busy to go off to visit civilian experts for no apparent reason other than their taking over command."

"As clever and intelligent as the reputation that precedes you," the general returns. "I would like to "pick your brain" a bit, regarding the events that happened at the harbor over the weekend."

"So why didn't anyone ask me about all that when they asked for my help with the Phoenix?" Milenna returns as she wonders how much he already knows.

"They were still trying to get their facts straight at the time," he answers. "The reports of a super robot and Godzilla brawling in the harbor had to be verified, and the location of the beast confirmed….you see why it took so long, I hope."

Milenna lets out a rather large sigh, before leveling her gaze on the man and asking, "What do you want to know?"

"Stupid, self centered, arrogant, self important, egotistical…" Kaze mutters under her breath as she and Jura walk toward home.

"Stop it," Jura tells her. "He wasn't any of those things. Given what he said happened last time they dealt with a k-girl, he was quite polite."

"I know," Kaze growls. "It just pisses me off that you got judged for what someone else did."

"I didn't get judged for it," Jura tells her. "I just got caught on the wrong side of the results." Then she sighs, and adds, "I guess we will just have to buy the equipment."

"Not very likely," Kaze retorts. "I've been shopping online, pricing the stuff out, and it's _way_ out of our price range."

"So what do we do now?" Jura asks her.

"Plan B," Kaze tells her. "We'll both have to be careful, but we'll just have to make due with real weapons, and trust that I'm good enough to keep from hurting you."

"I've never regretted trusting you before," Jura tells her, hugging her arm. "But are you sure this is a good idea?"

Kaze sighs, then admits, "Not entirely, but I'm out of other plans."

"I miss Maizy," they both say to each other at the same time.

"So how are your plans progressing?" a raspy/whiny voice asks when Geisha finds its owner within her hidden Main Base.

"Much farther along with your assistance," she answers.

"It's always a pleasure to help someone who's goal is the elimination of the miserable fleshlings that infest this world," he answers, remaining near the view port, but keeping to the shadows.

"Even with the technologies that you have so graciously provided us, it will still take us several months to complete the construction of the new titans. And nearly that long to finish the reprogramming of the Maidens," she tells him. "And without them it would have been impossible to resurrect this fortress."

"As I said, I'm more than happy to help," he answers, finally turning from the underwater view, and facing Geisha. The dim lighting gleams off his polished faceplate and irritating smirk as he continues, "Is your "Army" aware that your goals are to destroy the fleshlings?"

Geisha smirks back at him as she asks, "All the time you've been here, and you haven't noticed anything different between my ranking organic officers and the cannon fodder they lead? I'll have to make sure to compliment them on their deception."

"Hm? No I haven't noticed anything substantially different between them. They are all fleshlings," he answers.

"True enough Pyre, but they are hardly the same," she tells him. "For instance, they are not even humans at all."

"Oh? Some alien species perhaps?" he wonders, bringing his hand up and stroking his chin.

"Exactly. I've been cultivating their assistance for years, and once I took control of Red Bamboo, it was the proper time to bring them in," she tells him.

"So what are they? Some form of shape-shifter? It must be a formidable process of disguise, in order to fool my scanners. I am far more advanced than you and your other mechanical followers after all," he returns, thinking out loud.

"Very true. But I think you will be impressed. And they have a very good reason to follow me. Their world has been lost, and only a few scattered colonies keep their race from extinction," she tells him. "In exchange for my allowing them a colony here, they will offer all assistance they possibly can. Apparently, this world is as close as they have ever found to being a duplicate of their own."

"Yes, that would make for fairly loyal troops. Promises of a new home world are always an excellent motivator," Pyre agrees. "But you have yet to tell me just _what_ they are."

"And I'm not going to either," she grins at him. "You will simply have to await the unveiling with the rest of the world."

"I may be a patient mechanoid, but I dislike being toyed with," Pyre warns her.

"Who is toying with who Pyre?" she shoots back. "You refuse to tell me anything about your origins, or complete capabilities. The only reasons that I didn't have you obliterated after I had what I needed from you where that you have made it abundantly clear how much you dislike the human race, and your skills as a strategist. I'm still unsure about your capabilities as a tactician, but that will have to wait until we have an opportunity to strike once more."

"And when will that be, Commander?" he asks, her insolent smirk and tone starting to annoy him.

"Once the reprogramming, and the titans are completed," she tells him. "Oh, take these, and have them constructed as well. Just in case the problem with my last operation reappears, I plan to be ready to crush it with overwhelming _specialized_ force."

"As you wish," Pyre returns, betraying nothing as he snaps to attention, and brings his blue right fist up to the left side of his red chest plate, the energy cannon hanging from his upper arm swinging in its wake.

"Carry one then," Geisha grins at his display, before turning and leaving him to his own devices once more.

"_Damn them. Whatever possessed them to mix organics into our technology? Constantly fighting these…disgusting…urges is becoming tiresome. If not for the irreplaceable capabilities of this shell, I'd construct another to free myself of them,"_ he thinks after Geisha leaves him alone. "_These urges…..they force me to wonder how wholly organics manage to get anything accomplished,"_ he thinks, before heading toward the construction area, where the Titan class battle forms are under construction, to pass along the data on what Geisha wants constructed..

"_Where could that cyber rat have gotten off to?"_ a golden eagle thinks as she travels around the globe far faster than any animal has a right to move. "_It wasn't enough to go on that rampage at the lab. He had to steal a ship, and make a transwarp jump. And_ then_ the moronicon has to screw up the settings and jump to an alternate dimension on top of everything else! It's not fair! Just because we have the same capabilities, I'm sent in solo to drag his sorry tail section back home. He may have been built as my brother, but I think I'd rather slag him at this point than find out what went wrong with him. Oh, well. Looks like the next stop for me to search is called Japan."_

_**Clang! **_

"Well? We've been at this for a week now," Jura says as she and Kaze slowly circle each other. "How am I doing?"

Kaze's only answer is an over head smash that Jura is forced to catch with her hands bracing both ends of her blade. Even then the force of it gives Jura no choice but to drop to one knee, or suffer damage to her arms. Kaze follows it up with a spin kick that Jura takes in the chest, sending her tumbling away.

"Owww! What was that for?" Jura yells as she picks herself back up.

Kaze refuses to talk, just holding her blade in one hand, while curling the fingers of the other in a "bring it" gesture.

Jura growls, as she snatches her blade from it's place on the ground and rushes Kaze, her temper making her release her normally tight control on her strength, and her roundhouse slash actually forcing Kaze to move with it or being knocked over.

Once she has her balance restored, Kaze quickly works a disarming move on Jura, sending her blade flying up, where Kaze catches it as it falls back down. She then returns both blades to their places in her shoulder armor.

"That's enough for today," she finally says, tapping her choker and changing from her armor to street clothes.

"What brought that stuff on?" Jura demands, her eyes flashing as she places her hands on her hips.

"You weren't focusing on the fight. I can't go easy on you, because no one else will. Also, I wanted to check something I've noticed, and it seems to be true," Kaze tells her.

"What's that?" Jura asks, slightly appeased that the abuse she was just given had a good reason.

"When you are all calm and collected like this, your strength is a joke compared to what you are truly capable of," Kaze tells her. "Even without your size shifting power, you are like the Incredible Hulk. The madder you are, the stronger you get."

"How do you figure that?" Jura asks, not wanting to believe it.

"Look at today's training," Kaze returns. "That overhead smash shouldn't have dropped you to your knees like that. When you went after Gabriella, it took me, Zoe, and Gina, to pull you off of her enough for Giganna to get her clear. With that as a bench mark of what you're capable of, I know for a fact that you are holding back. After I gave you that boot to the chest, you came back stronger, and slightly faster. You damn near smashed me off my feet with that last one."

"I was actually madder that you wouldn't talk to me, than I was over being kicked like that," Jura smirks at her, giving her a hug.

"I'll remember that for the next time," Kaze grins, nuzzling the top of her head.

"You.." Jura smiles giving her a gentle swat.

"C'mon, let's go see how things are going with the tiny terror," Kaze suggests, giving Jura a gentle push toward the house.

"I hope Zoe and the others can get her up and running again soon. It's just not the same around here without her," Jura says as they enter the house in time to hear someone knocking on the front door.

"Who is it?" Kaze asks as Jura rushes through the house to reach the door.

"Yes?" Jura asks as she opens the door wide.

"Hi!" Nuri and Immomu chirp together.

"Whoa. I didn't think your sisters where going to let you two out of their sight until you had grown your own powers to fight back with," Kaze says when she catches sight of the pair.

"They agreed, on the condition that we call for them to come get us, or you drop us off," Immomu says.

"So what brings you two over? Checking on Maizy?" Jura asks, as she gestures for them to come in.

"Can we see her? Is she awake yet?" Immomu starts asking almost faster than they can follow.

"I don't see why not, but as far as we know, she's still offline," Kaze tells them.

"Um, if I could, Maizy was running a couple of projects on her computer. Think I could keep an eye on them for her?" Nuri asks shyly.

"I don't see why not," Jura tells her with a warm smile. "I'll run it past Zoe, but as far as I'm concerned, you have full permission to look after her stuff for her."

"Thanks!" Nuri says looking relieved, while Immomu shoots her a questioning look.

"Well, we were about to go check on her ourselves, so come on," Kaze says as she leads to way toward the basement.

"She looks worse now than when we hooked her up," Immomu says sadly when they see her.

"Yeah, but at least she's not going to die on us, thanks to you two," Zoe says as she pushes herself away from the workbench, where she has been operating on one of Maizy's arms.

"Sis, Nuri wanted to know if it was okay with you if she kept some of Maizy's online stuff going for her while you're putting her back together," Kaze says.

"I don't have a problem with it. Go for it," Zoe smiles at the little brown bug.

"Thanks!" Nuri cheers. "Good luck, and I hope you can get her up and running soon!"

"Me too, kiddo. Me too," Zoe says tiredly. "You really can't do much down here, so go on up to her room, and do what you need to for her projects."

"Alright. We don't want to be in the way while you work," Immomu adds as she and Nuri head back upstairs.

"So how are things going down here?" Jura asks, gently stroking the limp red hair away from Maizy's face.

"Slowly. I've managed to construct a new arm for her, since we had to cannibalize both of her old ones to build a single one with her rocket punch capabilities," Zoe says. "We still need to finish rebuilding her lower torso, where Geisha ripped her apart, and her flight pack was completely destroyed by the bitch's "Solar Sword". Then there are the upgrades that I want to make while she's like this….we are looking at months of work here. And that's with help from Megan and Milenna."

"Maybe we can help out some?" a purple haired mecha girl comments from the top of the stair.

"Kiry!" Zoe squeaks, rushing up the stairs to jerk her girlfriend into a hug. "They told me what happened to you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Someone made sure to keep the fakes off of me until the fight was over," Kiryuu tells her, glancing over her shoulder with pride.

"If I hadn't both Zoe and Katsura would have wanted to trash me afterward," Sumegi, the youngest (at least mentally) of the mecha-g girls smirks down at her sister from the landing.

"Not that I want to seem ungrateful, but why are you here Sumegi? I know full well that Maizy isn't on your list of favorite people," Zoe asks, as she waves for both MG girls to follow her down.

"Katsura had to stay behind at the base to meet with some general for a debriefing about what happened at the harbor. Since I really didn't want to sit home alone, Kiryuu said I could tag along," the copper haired mecha dragon answers. "We heard about what happened. How far are you willing to change her, in order to bring her back?" she asks.

"What did you have in mind?" Kaze asks suspiciously.

"Do you guys watch anime?" Sumegi asks in return.

"Some, but you still haven't answered the question," Jura shoots back.

"Well, I was thinking that if her flight gear was totaled, you might want to think about something like this to replace it?" Sumegi answers, putting her index finger up against a USB port, and displaying a small file of several different images.

"You want us to turn her into a mech that can warp minds, and has enough raw firepower to level countries?" Kaze asks, getting a look at what's on the screen.

"No!" Sumegi returns, insulted. "Like I said, "flight gear"! If you know that much about the mech, you should know what those wings capabilities are, and how they work, at least in the context of the show's world, right? What if we gave her a set that are similar?"

"What are you talking about?" Zoe asks, totally confused.

"I think Sumegi wants us to build a set of wings like this anime mech's to replace Maizy's flight pack," Jura says, not quite sure she's got it all either.

"It has promise," Kaze adds. "In the show, each one of those "feathers" has a small thruster at its base, giving that mech incredible maneuverability, and the wings can also serve as a shield of sorts by dropping down across the mechs front. The biggest problem I see, is actually getting the anime mechanics to function in the real world."

"Right," Sumegi agrees. "But _if_ we can make it work, would you be willing to put it in her?"

"_If_ you can make it work, and it has the capabilities you claim it should, then why wouldn't I? It would be a serious upgrade to what her flight capabilities where before," Zoe tells them.

"Great! Now I have another project I can work on!" Sumegi cheers.

"We'll help you out if you need it," Jura offers.

"Yeah, we're not much help working on her main systems, but maybe we can do some good on this one," Kaze adds.

"I'm not dumb enough to turn down help," Sumegi grins. "When should we get together to work on this?" she asks.

"I've got to work the rest of this week, so it will be the weekend before I'm free to help," Kaze tells her sadly.

"I'll hook up with you after school," Jura tells Sumegi.

"When was the last time you had any rest?" Kiryuu demands as she looks Zoe over with a critical eye.

"Huh?" Zoe returns, caught off guard , since she was concentrating on Sumegi's idea.

"You. Downtime. Away from lab," Kiryuu clarifies.

"…Um, when Geisha knocked me offline with a Thunder Break?" Zoe returns lamely.

"And you _let_ her work herself nonstop like this?" Kiryuu snarls at Kaze.

"It's kind of like you telling Katsura what to do," Jura returns, defending her girlfriend. "It just doesn't go over very well."

Kiryuu lightens up at that, nodding in understanding. "Yeah, Katsura would tell me to go slag myself, or order me in for a complete software diagnostic, if I tried to tell her what to do," she admits.

"Would that be before, or after, she screamed at you that she is the ranking unit, and that you where grounded until she could talk to the C.O.?" Sumegi asks, clearly annoyed at how she is treated by their older sister.

Raised eyebrows from everyone who isn't "family" meet her words.

"Yeah, she does seem to have a few "control issues" that have nothing to do with her programming," Kiryuu admits, rubbing the back of her head.

"There have been more than a few times that I wish something like that would have worked on her," Zoe says wistfully, stroking Maizy's hair.

"That tears it. You need to get out of here for a few hours," Jura says, dragging Zoe's attention away from her little sister.

"But I can't. Not until she's back on line," Zoe returns stubbornly.

"You have someplace in mind to take her so she can relax?" Jura asks Kiryuu.

"Yeah, I've got a few of them in mind," the dragonish mecha girl returns with a smirk.

"Then _you_," Jura says, poking Zoe in the chest, "Are going to get out of here for a few hours. You need to unwind, before you start making mistakes down here."

"I'm a robot. I _can't_ make mistakes," Zoe shoots back.

"No, you're a cyber doll. And one who's A.I. makes her as close to human as is possible for man to create. _AND_ you need to rest your mind, or just like us organics, you will start to make mistakes. And we all know that the last thing you want to do is make a mistake while you're rebuilding our favorite tiny terror," Jura fires back, with no let up. When Zoe looks like she is about to argue some more, Jura adds, "Kaze? I think you need to escort your sister upstairs."

Kaze gets a slightly evil look in her optics, as she steps up behind Zoe, and wraps her in a bear hug. "Care to get the doors?" she asks as she lifts Zoe off her feet.

"No problem," Kiryuu grins, moving ahead of them to open the doors.

"Put me down this instant!" Zoe snarls, thrashing in Kaze's grip.

"Not going to happen," Kaze grins. "You may as well relax, you know full well that you can't beat my strength."

"I was beat before this started, wasn't I?" Zoe asks.

"As soon as Kiryuu asked how long you'd been down here, you should have expected this," Jura tells her.

"Come on, Sumegi. Maizy's repairs are going on pause, while we get this one to chill out for a while," Kiryuu calls down to her sister.

"Alright. I need to start working on this anyway," Sumegi grins as she follows the others up to the main floor of the house.

"Doctor Tokai?" General Takahara asks after knocking on her office door.

"Yes?" she answers, looking up from her desk, and the budget sheets resting there.

"I'm here to inform you that your project is no longer under the command of Colonel Mitsuka. You will need to prepare to set up duplicate facilities at an undisclosed location, because your charges are going to be answering to a new commanding officer," he tells her.

She stares at him in shock for a few moments, before sinking back into her chair and muttering, "Thank God."

"Not a fan of the colonel I take it?" he asks with an understanding smile.

"That egotistical, self righteous, arrogant, self serving, son of a bitch, needs to be tossed into the same room as that possessed k-girl," she growls.

"Ouch. I hate the man's guts, and even I wouldn't go that far," he says with a wince.

"You have no idea what I have had to put up with from that bastard," she snarls back.

"Oh, I have a fairly good idea. I served under his idol back when I was a captain. That piece of filth was a major at the time, and the colonel a simple lieutenant, and serving as the man's aid. The backstabbing prick repeatedly sent the best squad I have ever had the privilege to work with on nothing less than suicide missions, then had the sheer _gall_ to be upset when they not only survived, but completed their mission. I really wish one of those girls would have shown him exactly _why_ they were the only one's capable of saving us all," he answers her.

"Makes me glad that we're not at war right now," the doctor answers, before realizing something. "Wait a second. They barely tolerate women in the military _now_. There is no way in hell they would have allowed them to be sent on suicide missions as far back as you are talking."

"Nice catch doc," he answers her with a nod. "But I never said that they where human, now did I?"

"Then….The Maidens? You served with the Shogun Maidens?" she asks in awe.

"I was their immediate commander," he returns with a bittersweet smile. "I was the one who got to pass along the bastards suicide missions to them. I'm just pleased that they where human enough to be willing to "bend" mission parameters to the point that they were able to survive."

"What I wouldn't have given to have been able to model the MG girls after a complete schematic of one of the Maidens. The best I was able to do was guess at how things worked," she mutters.

"I had wondered why the few glimpses I've managed to get of them made them seem so…..incomplete…..when compared to the Maidens. And I mean no offence with that," he answers.

"I don't take any, but the girls probably would," she smirks back. "Sadly it's probably quite accurate. I know for a fact that the powers that the Maidens possessed had to be immense, given what they are grudgingly given credit for. I'm fairly sure that we've managed to come close to those levels with the MG girls, but it's in the realm of their A.I.'s and non-combat systems that I'm unhappy with what we managed to accomplish."

"So the girls are merely intelligent robots, rather than in-organic people?" the general asks, testing his understanding.

"Some of them come closer than others," she answers. "Katsura is everything you could ask for in a soldier. She obeys orders, sometimes too well, she looks after her team, and she tries to keep collateral damage to a minimum. But I'm not sure if she does those because of her personality, or because they are part of her programming."

"We discovered during the Maiden's original trials that if we _taught_ what we wanted them to know, rather than dumping it into their heads, we got much better results from them," the general tells her. "That was why Zoe was always so human. She was raised that way, learning the same way we do, although at a much faster rate."

"Something else for us to lay at the colonels feet. Professor Ikatski wanted to do that, but he was over ruled," she answers.

"I see," the general says, clearly thinking something over. "I'll tell you what, doctor. Once you have the secondary station set up, I will see to it that you get the information you want on the Maidens. I'm not sure what good it will do you at this point, but I don't see how it can hurt."

"Well, at the very least, I might be able to retrofit some systems into them to make them more complete. Nothing gives you understanding, like being able to experience it," the doctor returns, standing up and offering the general her hand. "I'm certainly looking forward to working with you more than I ever did Colonel Mitsuka."

"And I look forward to serving with another team of Robotic Defenders. Good day, doctor," the general returns shaking the offered hand.

"Now aren't you glad that we made you leave the basement?" Kiryuu asks, as she snuggles with Zoe in a secluded spot at the park.

"You, Little Dragon, are far too pleased with yourself," Zoe shoots back, giving her a poke in the ribs. "And yes, I did need to get out of there for a while. But I can't stand the thought of her laying down there, parts of her hanging out, and not doing anything to fix it."

"I know. And the fact that you would feel the same way if I'd been the one to be hurt like that, is one of the things I love so much about you," Kiryuu tells her, nuzzling the back of Zoe's neck.

"Yes I would. And the thought of you all torn up like that is not something I really want to be imagining," Zoe tells her. "I….I think I need someone to be in charge of me for a change. I'm so focused on Maizy, that I'm not really thinking straight."

"You mean that?" Kiryuu asks, snaking herself around so that she can see Zoe's face.

"Yeah, I think I do. For today at least, I really need a keeper. I need to get my mind off of Maizy's situation, for at least a few hours," Zoe admits.

"Then we are going to need someplace with some privacy," Kiryuu tells her with a feral grin. "Know of any place like that?"

"Home. It's big enough that even if Kaze and Jura are home, we will be left alone," Zoe answers her.

Kiryuu, looks at her skeptically for a few moments, before agreeing. "But if you try to go to the basement, I get to do whatever I want with you, agreed?" she adds.

"Fair enough. Shall we go?" Zoe asks, as her wings spread from her flight pack.

"Let's go," Kiryuu agrees.

"I think that is the one power you have that I wish most that they had given me. Even Katsura and Sumegi can fly on their own. Best I can do are booster jumps," Kiryuu tells her lover.

"Maybe you should ask for some upgrades? It shouldn't be too difficult for them to redesign your weapons pack to give you some real flight time," Zoe returns, unlocking the door and leading the way in.

"_I'd rather have them give me some _other_ upgrades,"_ Kiryuu smirks to herself as she follows Zoe into the mansion.

Zoe doesn't even think about what she is doing as she makes a bee-line through the house and heads for the door to the basement.

"_Looks like I'm going to have to get a little more forceful with her," _Kiryuu thinks to herself as she reaches for a compartment on her back and withdraws a few items.

Zoe still has her hand on the door as she starts through, when Kiryuu grabs her wrist and loops a cord around it, then shoves her forward until she is bent over the railing looking over the basement lab.

"Kiryuu! What are you doing!" Zoe yells as the mecha dragon girl quickly grabs her other arm and proceeds to bind them behind the hero's back. "This isn't MMPH!" she tries to continue, but Kiryuu slaps a piece of black duct tape across her mouth.

"Don't bother trying to break the cord, it's got highly flexible wire woven through it to make it strong enough to take our weight," Kiryuu grins as she whispers in Zoe's ear. Then she passes the excess cord through Zoe's legs, before turning her around to face away from the basement. "Remember not more than twenty minutes ago?" she asks, giving the cord a slight tug. "When you agreed to let me do whatever I wanted with you if you tried to come down here?"

Zoe's eyes widen in shock when she realizes that she completely zoned out about that.

"Now, I think it's time that I took you upstairs, and saw to your punishment, don't you?" Kiryuu asks, with a wicked grin on her face. Then she gives the cord a sharp upward tug, making it ride tightly against Zoe's crotch.

Zoe goes up on tiptoe in reaction, before Kiryuu tugs again, and starts leading her to her room.

Once they arrive, Kiryuu quickly strips Zoe, and works some additional bindings on her before standing back to admire her handy work.

"How many times can our helpless heroine be brought to orgasm in one night?" Kiryuu asks, getting a wide eyed look of surprise in return. "Let's find out," she adds, her optics color shifting from its normal yellow to an orangish color.

"Do we really want to interrupt them?" Jura asks, before Kaze can pound on Zoe's door.

"With all the noise Zoe was making last night, I think they've had enough fun time, don't you?" Kaze shoots back.

"No. Zoe needs this. She's been working herself to death trying to get Maizy back online as fast as she can. Let Kiryuu keep her mind off of things for a while longer," Jura argues.

Kaze hesitates for a moment, thinking it over. "Alright. You're right about her needing to stop pushing herself so hard. We'll check back in on them later," she agrees, following Jura down the stairs.

A few moments later, the sound of the front door closing reaches the sensitive audio sensors of the pair in question.

"So how shall we spend the rest of the day?" Kiryuu grins, gazing at her lovely captive.

"So what do you think of the place?" Mandy asks as she shows Tina around one of the smaller outbuildings of the school.

"Is it going to be large enough? How many children will there be?" Tina returns.

Mandy has to think for a moment, before answering, "Around ten or so, for now. But one of them is currently out of commission, and is undergoing extensive repairs."

"The little one who was hurt trying to protect her friends?" Tina asks.

"Yes," Mandy answers. "She is the prototype for the older looking Mazinger girls. Compared to the other "juniors" her powers are immense. But when faced with a cyber doll with as much experience, and advanced weaponry as her sister, or the one who tried to kill her, she was simply out classed. While I have no doubts that she will be joining your class, she will _not_ be here for the first day."

"That is too bad, since I'm looking forward to meeting her," Tina admits. Then she smirks over her shoulder and asks, "So what do you five think of the place?"

The Lion Drones begin to appear from various doors and halls, sending their impressions of the building to their mistress. After a few moments of her nodding in response to what she is being told, she gives one final nod, and they go back to exploring.

"So what did they have to say?" Mandy asks, once more amazed at the way Vol-Tina and her lions work together.

"They say that the place will need a bit more minor security, since there are a couple of entrances that don't appear to have locks on them, and Black suggested turning half of the second floor into a place for the lot of us to stay," she answers.

"I don't think that is a bad idea at all. Given that your…..partners….require a bit more room than most teachers without a family would require, I think it is an excellent idea. It would also make it exceptionally simple for your students to find you if they have need," Mandy agrees.

"You mean I would be allowed to not only live on campus, but _in_ the school itself? That can't be normal," Tina returns in surprise.

Mandy smirks at her as she turns to leave and shoots back, "Define "normal". Especially here."

Tina works her mouth without any sound for a few moments, before she gives up and follows the dragonish woman out of the building, five mechanical cats following in her wake like multi colored shadows.

"Have you seen Kiryuu?" Katsura demands when she finds Jura and Kaze with the twins at lunch. "She didn't come home last night, didn't show up at all today, and isn't answering her com."

Jura and Kaze share a look, before Kaze answers, "Do you promise to leave her be if I tell you what I know?"

"Oh crap. This isn't going to go well," Sumegi mutters, knowing that Katsura doesn't put up with circular thinking.

"You will tell me where my sister is, or I will beat the information out of you. You have no right to set conditions on how I deal with family matters," Katsura snarls back at her.

"This isn't a good idea!" Sumegi hisses at her, getting a glowing glare in return. "Fine! Do what you want! And I'll make sure to tell them all that the reason you got disassembled with a sword was because you where too stubborn to be reasonable about things, and lie if you needed to!" She shoots back as she moves away to a safe distance.

"She is right. It's not a good idea to try to pick a fight with Kaze, when she _will_ tell you what you want if you agree to her terms," Jura tells her.

"Stay out of this. Despite your assistance in ending the trouble at the harbor, I still do not trust you. Your powers are far too dangerous in my opinion to allow you to be roaming about," Katsura growls back at her.

"I've had just about enough of your insulting both me, and my girlfriend, you chrome plated k-girl wannabe," Kaze growls as she gets to her feet.

"Oh, crap," several people whisper as they hear that Katsura is pissing off some of the most powerful new students. And doing it on purpose. There is a quick but orderly mass exodus from the general area, leaving only Katsura, and Kaze's group remaining.

"Jura? Do me a favor and get out of the way, and take the twins with you. This may get…..messy," Kaze tells her as she faces off with Katsura.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Jura asks, as she and the twins back toward where Sumegi is standing, glaring at her sister.

"Want to? Not particularly. Feel that I _need_ to? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that this needs to be done, and is actually a little overdue," she answers, giving Katsura a cold look as a breeze blows her hair back from her face.

"This is going to get ugly," Kera mutters as Kaze and Katsura continue to face off, neither of them making a move as yet.

"Sumegi, I know why Kiryuu won't answer Katsura, but will she answer _you_?" Jura asks.

"She's with Zoe, isn't she?" Sumegi asks with a deep sigh. "I _told_ her that Kiryuu would be alright, and that was probably what was going on, but she wouldn't listen! She's all hung up on being in charge of the squad."

"I thought you guys where family, like the Mazingers?" Sera asks, suddenly confused.

"We are, but Katsura is the eldest. And the fact that we answer to the military also makes us a squad, with Katsura in charge. Unfortunately, she sometimes lets that go to her head," Sumegi answers.

"Like now," Jura winces, as the first explosion sounds from behind them.

"Yeah….." Sumegi agrees.

"Call Kiryuu. If she won't answer you, then I'll try to get Zoe. They are the only ones who are going to be able to defuse this little bombshell without having to hammer both of them into the ground in the process," Jura orders her.

"You're right," Sumegi agrees, quickly accessing her com systems.

"We don't have to do this," Kaze tells her.

"You will tell me what you know about my sisters whereabouts, or I will commence to blasting the data out of you," Katsura returns, assuming a gunfighters stance, with her legs spread, and her arms at her sides and bent at the elbows so that her hands are pointed at Kaze.

"If you insist on doing this, I refuse to take the blame for what happens to you," Kaze tells her, standing there with her arms crossed.

"As if," Katsura smirks, before launching a full spread of mini missiles from both hands.

The resulting explosion throws Kaze through the air, and leaves her uniform shredded and smoking.

"I've seen your power, and I know how to beat you," Katsura tells her, a smug note in her voice before she fires off a rainbow hued eye blast at her.

"And I've been told that you regularly get your ass handed to you for underestimating your opponents. Looks like it's time to add one more notch to that particular list," Kaze growls, picking herself up from where the blast had thrown her.

"I've been designed to be able to take down the most powerful of K-morphs. You won't be nearly as much of a challenge," Katsura snarls at her, before unleashing another barrage of mini missiles.

The detonations leave Kaze totally enveloped in a dark haze of smoke.

"Now what the hell is going on?" Mandy growls, after hearing the first explosions.

"Another fight?" Tina innocently suggests.

"I'm sure it is. But _who_ is involved this time?" Mandy returns. "It has some outcome on the amount of damage that ends up inflicted on the school."

"Then we should hurry, and find out," Tina says, breaking into a run toward the commons.

"I don't get paid enough for this crap," Mandy mutters before chasing after Tina.

"Are you ready to tell me what I want to know yet?" Katsura demands toward the cloud keeping Kaze hidden from sight.

"Are you ready to shut up and be reasonable yet?" Kaze returns, slowly stalking out of the cloud of smoke.

"Why you…" Katsura trails off as Kaze slowly emerges from the smoke.

First her armored boots and lower arms become clear, followed by her crowned helmet. Lastly, the crimson crest on her chest, and her glowing eyes as she steps completely clear of the shrouding smoke.

"I'm quite certain that you don't want to keep this up," Kaze growls at her.

"Really? How does it feel to be wrong?" Katsura asks, just before she unleashes her eyebeams, and jagged energy bolts from her belly plate, followed by another barrage from her mini missiles.

Several ragged explosions once more conceal Kaze from sight after she is blasted from her feet again.

"It will be better for you if you just tell me what you know," Katsura calls toward the cloud.

Kaze's response doesn't involve words this time, as her left forearm shoots out of the cloud, smashing into Katsura's gut, while her right shoots out at ground level a moment later, and suddenly arcs up to smash into her face as she bends over from the first hit.

As Katsura crashes to the ground, Kaze emerges from the haze, none the worse for having endured Katsura's barrage beyond a few smudges of soot and dirt.

"I warned you. Cease this, before I'm forced to do more than deliver a few love taps," Kaze tells her coldly.

"If that is the best you can do, I'm forced to wonder how you managed to defeat Dizzy. I'm going to chalk your win against the Red Geisha as your surprising her," Katsura smirks as she picks herself up.

"Believe what you want, but it won't change the fact that the only one who is going to get hurt in this is going to be you," Kaze returns.

"You _will_ tell me where Kiryuu is. _That_ is the only way this is going to end," Katsura answers, squaring off with Kaze once more.

"Over there!" Tina says, once Mandy catches up to her, pointing toward the smoky area.

"Katsura? She doesn't usually get involved in brawls," Mandy tells her when she catches sight of the silver saurian-mech.

"Her opponent is approaching her from within the smoke," Tina tells her, as they wait for the other girl to appear.

"Oh, sweet merciful crap," Mandy mutters when the other girl steps clear of the smoke. "Kaze is capable of ripping her apart without even trying hard."

"Then it seems that we should break this up," Tina tells her, as she starts forward, her lions spreading out into a wide "v" formation behind her.

"Double crap," Mandy mutters as she follows along in their wake.

"Have you managed to get through to her?" Jura demands as yet another explosion echoes back to them.

"Yes! She will be here as soon as she can. She said something about Zoe being tied up, and needing to cut her loose before they could leave," Sumegi answers, clearly wondering about the last part of the message.

"Let's just hope they get here before Kaze gets tired of taking Katsura's crap," Kera mutters as she turns back toward the fight.

"General Takahara, the tech section reports that the support facilities for the mechanized squad have been completed," his aid informs him.

"Much faster than I expected," the general says with a smile. Then he pulls a data disk from his desk. Motioning his aid over, he adds, "Take this, and deliver it to Doctor Hitomi Tokai. Tell her that I always honor my depts."

"Sir." the aid answers with a salute, before taking the disk and leaving to deliver it.

"Here's hoping that you can do something for those girls, doctor," the general says to the empty room.

"Stop this right this instant!" Tina shouts out as she storms toward Katsura and Kaze.

"Stay out of this, newbie," Katsura snarls coldly, pointing one hand at Tina, while aiming her remaining weapons at Kaze once more.

"Don't do it…" Kaze warns her.

"Tell me what I want to know, and I won't," Katsura returns.

"You are aware that you sound like a broken record, right?" Kaze shoots back.

"I said- "Tina starts to say, only to be cut off as Katsura fires once more.

"I'm going to keep blasting you, until you give me the information. Make it easier on yourself and just _tell me,_" Katsura calls.

"Blow it out your tail pipe," Kaze snarls, getting annoyed.

While the pair continue to trade insults and the occasional load of firepower, Tina is picking herself up off the ground.

"_She did _not_ just do that!"_ she thinks, shocked at the way Katsura is abusing her abilities. _"My friends, I do believe it's time that we showed them what we are truly capable of,"_ she directs the thought at the Lion Drones.

The five roar in unison, drawing everyone's attention to the smoking area where Tina was last seen. As everyone watches, five brightly glowing blurs streak into the cloud, each a different color.

"What the hell?" Kaze mutters, keeping one optic on Katsura, just in case.

Within the cloud, the lions are transforming into armor, and fusing themselves with Tina. Black changes, becoming torso armor and a helmet for her, two red wings sticking up over her shoulders, and golden horns jutting up from the helm. Red, and Green become arm armor, their heads becoming pincer like battle claws over top of her hands. Yellow and Blue, change into armored boots for her, their heads placed so that her toes are just short of the lions jaws. A flash of energy as everyone locks into place, and the transformation is complete. Now standing a fair bit taller, and prepared for almost anything, Vol-Tina strides through the cloud, ready to beat some sense into the both of them.

"Have you flipped your freaking lid?" Kaze yells at Katsura. "She wasn't involved. She wasn't doing anything more than telling you to stop! If that's how you protect the innocent, then I think you need to go in and get your mind wiped and reprogrammed!"

"I think you should just give me the information!" Katsura snarls back, readying another barrage.

Before she can fire, a monstrous blast of flames erupts between them.

When they both turn to look at the source, they find Tina, in full armor, the flame blast erupting from her red armored arm.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, I demand that you stop this battle immediately," she says as she cuts off the flames.

"Stay out of this, or I'll give you some of what I've been giving her," Katsura snarls, before turning her attention back to Kaze.

"I've had about enough of this crap," Kaze growls, quickly moving forward, and slamming her right hand into Katsura's chest plate. Then she squeezes slightly, not enough to destroy the armor, just enough to ensure she has a good grip. Next she lifts Katsura off the ground, and brings her up to eye level.

"Put her down, or I will be forced to disable the both of you," Tina yells, getting angry that her orders to stop fighting are being ignored.

"I'm not going to harm her, I just want to ensure that there can't be any miss understanding here," Kaze tells her, then refocuses her attention on Katsura. "And as for _you_, you have to be the sorriest excuse for a security officer I've ever had the displeasure to deal with! For someone who is supposed to break up fights, and "keep the peace" between k-girls, you're doing a remarkable job of imitating the worst offenders of the bunch!" Kaze snarls into her face, leaving Katsura gapping in shocked outrage.

But Kaze isn't done yet. Not by a long shot.

Turning her face to look at the ground behind Katsura, she unleashes a quick blast of her Photon Beams, blasting yet another crater into the commons.

Kaze then drops Katsura into the hole, and growls, "_Never_ mistake lack of willingness for lack of capability. You managed to knock me around, because you are _supposed_ to be one of the good guys, and I don't kick the shit out of the good guys unless they force me to!"

Then she turns and stalks away, leaving Katsura in the hole, while Tina looks on, her expression shifting between annoyance at Kaze's theatrics, and approval of her words. Turning her attention back to Katsura as she ignites her flight jets long enough to clear the hole, she demands, "Are you finished now? Or will I be forced to stop you from continuing with your attack?"

"KATSURA!" Kiryuu shrieks as she drops into the commons, the exhaust from her jump jets a dark counterpoint to her gleaming silver skin and armor.

"Where have you been?" Katsura demands, only to have Kiryuu cut her off.

"What I do with my time, _on my time_, is none of your concern sister," she snarls, her voice cold enough to double for her Absolute Zero Cannon. "You are _so_ lucky that Kaze didn't want to hurt you, otherwise we would be salvaging your remains for a week! Provided she didn't just slag your self-important tail for acting like such an ass!"

"How dare you talk to your commanding officer like that!" Katsura growls back in shocked surprise.

"I _dare_ because someone needs to!" Kiryuu yells in her face. "You have let your position go to your head. Kaze had an open channel to us, and we heard everything you had to say! She repeatedly gave you an option that _didn't_ involve fighting, all you had to do was do things her way! "But _no,_ you had to pick a fight with one of the most powerful mechs ever to walk the halls of this school, a fight you had no chance of actually winning, and acting like the worst of the bullies in the process!"

"We? Who was with you," Katsura demands.

"That would be me," Zoe adds, dropping down behind her.

"I should have known," she mutters.

"I realize you are the most militarily focused of your sisters, but you _really_ need to learn how to loosen up," Zoe tells her, before walking off to check on her sister.

"I trust this is done now?" Tina asks, not expecting to be told otherwise.

"If she wants to try and continue, I'm going to stick a charged combat knife in her core processor," Kiryuu growls.

"No need for that, I think I've been chastised enough for this mess," Katsura answers. Then she turns her attention to Tina, and asks, "And you are? I'm assuming you are new, since I don't have any files on you as yet."

"My name is Tina," she answers. "Starting in a few weeks, I will be teaching here."

"You are going to be one of our instructors?" Kiryuu asks, surprised.

"No," Tina returns. "I'll be teaching the younger girls. It has been decided that it will be safer for them to be here on campus with the rest of you, rather than scattered across the city, like easy targets, if those who attempted to kidnap them try again."

"My apologies. I had no idea that you where a staff member," Katsura tells her, managing to sound a bit sheepish over her behavior.

"Oh, don't worry about this, Katsura. You will be making amends by assisting with repairing the damage. And I _will_ be reporting this incident to your commander. Even if you are a security officer here, _this_ kind of behavior will _not_ be tolerated," Mandy informs her, finally feeling its safe enough to get close to ground zero.

"Yes ma'am," Katsura answers in a small voice.

"What the flaming hell is wrong with you?" Dr. Tokai nearly screams at Katsura as the three sisters stand at attention before the doctors desk.

"I was merely attempting to acquire information on Kiryuu's whereabouts, given the fact that she hadn't been home in more than 24 hours," Katsura attempts to defend herself.

"Is this true?" the doctor demands, focusing her angry features on Kiryuu.

"Yes, but I was off the duty roster until the afternoon of the day in question," Kiryuu responds.

"I see. Make sure from now on to report in at least every few hours, even when on your own time," the doctor orders her. Kiryuu's shocked look and clear intention to argue causes her to add, "Given recent events, it is entirely possible that the next attack could be initiated by someone attempting to take out the strongest and most organized of the defenders who fought back during the last attack. While some of the organic girls may be able to top you in the raw power category, you _are_ the most organized of the lot."

"As you wish ma'am. I'll make sure to report in roughly every four hours or so, when on my own time," Kiryuu agrees sullenly.

"_However_, this still doesn't excuse your behavior. This incident brings home something that I have been worried about concerning you girls for some time now, and I finally have both the data, _and_ permission to see to some of them," the doctor tells them.

"What are they? Surly we can put your fears to rest, if we know what they are?" Katsura asks.

"My "fears" as you put it, are along the lines of being disappointed that I, and the other designers, couldn't make you all more "human" when we designed you," the doctor tells them.

"But we were never supposed to be human. We are k-girls, aren't we?" Sumegi asks.

"True, Sumegi, but you are missing the point. Before you three, there was another team of robotic defenders who protected the world. While your shells and capabilities would have remained the same, if we could have used complete data from that original team, we could have made your subsystems and A.I.'s much more human like," the doctor tells them, calming herself as she explains. "Katsura, you where the first of your sisters to be "completed", at least as far as the short sighted fools in charge of the project where concerned. To be brutally honest, I have never been happy with the level your A.I. was left at."

"What is wrong with my A.I.?" Katsura demands hotly.

"Tell me, have you ever wondered how your actions make others feel? Have you ever just felt the urge to go lay on a hill and stare at the clouds?" the doctor asks.

"Not really. If I am following my orders and set parameters, their feeling should be immaterial if my actions result in their continued safety. And as for the later, that is simply a waste of time, that would be put to better use coming up with contingency plans for dealing with any K-girl that should happen to go rouge, posing a threat to innocents," Katsura responds.

"Spoken like a model robot soldier, rather than an artificial woman who should be able to think for herself, and merely follows the directives we set down because she feels that it's the right thing to do," the doctor tells her sadly. Turning to Sumegi, she offers up a slight smile and adds, "And speaking of imagination, I'm told that you like to pretend that you are a fictional giant robot?"

"Yes ma'am. I know it's not real, but….it's _fun!_ I can't help it, when I'm watching the shows, I can't help but think about it, and wonder what it would be like to actually be the pilot of a super robot like that," Sumegi admits, a red flush apparent on her chromed cheeks.

"Oh, how I wish we could have had such a success with all of you," the doctor tells them, her smile not so strained now. "However, you need to exercise some restraint in this….fascination… you have with animated television programming. I'm not telling you to give it up, just don't let it be the only thing you think about."

"Yes, ma'am," Sumegi answers, her blush burning hotter.

"And you," the doctor continues, turning her attention to Kiryuu once more. "You have actually become friends with some of the girls who rank highest on the "threat" list, have you not?"

"It's actually more of being "a friend of their friend" than being a part of their private circle," Kiryuu admits, a blush of her own appearing.

"Ah, so the rumors that have gotten back to are proven true, at least in part," the doctor smirks, leaning back in her chair.

"What rumors?" Kiryuu asks, her blush burning hot enough that the air above her head is shimmering in the heat.

"The rumors that you have struck up a friendship with Mazinger Zoe," the doctor tells her, a genuine grin blooming on her face. "And judging by your reactions, I'd say the _other_ rumors are at least partially correct as well."

When Kiryuu shoots a glare at her sisters, Sumegi raises both her hands and says, "I didn't rat you out."

"Neither did I. I may not approve, But I respected your wish to keep it a secret," Katsura adds.

"And _that_ gives me hope for you, Katsura," the doctor adds, raising an eyebrow at the fact that the sisters have been keeping secrets from her. "But I want it all laid out on the table, here and now."

"Is that an order?" Kiryuu demands, her fist trembling in anger as she feels she is being forced to give up the happiness she has found for herself outside of her family and duty.

Surprised by her reaction, the doctor stands up and walks over to Kiryuu, and stares into the face of her "daughter" since Kiryuu was the only one of the three that she had a personal hand in constructing. "….never mind. The truth is written all over your face, for anyone who knows how to read it," the doctor tells her.

When Kiryuu's mouth turns into a small "o" of surprise, the doctor smiles at her, and adds, "Out of the lot of you, I never expected _any_ of you to learn about love, given how limited your programming was. I have never been happier to be proven wrong."

"You….You approve?" Katsura stutters, shocked.

"Why wouldn't I? I've told you before that I wanted the lot of you to be as human as possible. What is more human than love?" the doctor returns.

While the MG-girls deal with that revelation, the doctor returns to her desk and calls up the files on her screen that she had been working on since she had received the data disk of the original "Blank Maiden" schematics.

"I've been working on some additional components for you girls, and after what happened the other day, I'd say that in some cases they are badly needed," she finishes in an annoyed tone, shooting Katsura a look that clearly states that she isn't off the hook yet.

"May we ask what you have in mind?" Katsura asks.

"You can ask as much as you want," the doctor tells her with a smirk. "But the only answer you're going to get is that I expect all three of you back here in two days. Your new parts will be complete by then. I will clear it with the school, so that you will be free for the needed time frame."

"Joy," Katsura mutters under her breath as she and her sisters file out of the doctor's office.

"So _how_ many new students did we get this week?" Katsura asks, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"Connie, the bird girl, Montana, the mushroom girl, Nyuu, the little water dragon thing, Gummi, the walrus girl, Daniel, another Rodan girl, the gargantuan twins, Gilly and Sandy, and if we count new adults, there is the new teacher Vol-Tina, and another Godzilla morph named Nami," Kiryuu ticks off the names on her fingers as the sisters head toward their base, for their appointment with Dr. Tokai.

"Seven new girls for Katsura to scheme up ways to stop, whoop-di-freakin'-do," Sumegi mutters.

"You know it's our duty to have plans in place should they be needed," Katsura sharply reminds her.

"Yeah, that worked out really well for you when you picked a fight with Kaze, now didn't it?" Sumegi shoots back.

"Stop it now, or I'll shoot the both of you," Kiryuu growls. Katsura is about to say something, when Kiryuu adds, "And the first one to say "she started it" gets a double dose."

Katsura's jaw snaps shut with an audible "clack" and Sumegi just grins as they are waved through the gate.

"I'm pleased that you are so punctual," Dr. Tokai says as she waits for the sisters to take their places in their repair cradles. "The instillations will take a few hours, so prepare yourselves for a full systems shutdown," she tells them.

"Can you inform us as to what you're about to put in us?" Katsura asks, as she is locked into place, and her cradle rotates so that she is laying horizontal to the floor.

"You will find out when you wake up," the doctor replies, a smug smirk on her face. "Now commence shutdown."

"As ordered," Katsura answers, her optics going dark moments later.

"You two as well," the doctor adds, as both Sumegi and Kiryuu rotate to horizontal.

"Yes, ma'am," they answer, before shutting themselves down.

"Alright folks, it's time to give these girls an upgrade," the doctor orders as the maintenance teams roll in the carts containing the new components.

"Will you be joining in ma'am?" the head of Katsura's team asks.

"I'll be working with Kiryuu's team. She and Sumegi will be getting the largest changes, physically speaking," she answers. "But don't be afraid to call for help if you run into problems. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think of these girls like my daughters, and I don't want anything to go wrong."

"Yes, Ma'am," several team members call back in response to that order.

"So, have all the proper people been notified?" Tina asks as she has a meeting with Mandy and Milenna.

"Almost," Mandy answers. "I'll be telling the Mothra's and Nami after school."

"And I'll be informing Zoe when I'm over there working on Maizy. I'm stunned at how quickly the repairs are going," Milenna adds.

"I look forward to meeting that one," Tina smiles.

"_I _look forward to completing her repairs," Milenna smirks.

"How much is left?" Mandy asks.

"We need to finish constructing her new multi-function arm, and integrate the newly designed flight gear. Then there are the additional modifications that Zoe wants to make to her. Once those are done, we can reload her brain core back into the body, and re-activate her," Milenna answers.

"Sounds like a lot of work to do yet, then," Tina says.

"Yes, but it's all coming along quite well," Milenna agrees.

"Well, the class room has been completed, and I'm reviewing the files you have been so kind to give me about my soon to be charges," Tina informs them.

"Let's hope your students are less destructive than ours," Mandy smirks, earning a chuckle from the others.

"I hope so. It would be nice to avoid more scenes like that one with Katsura the other day," Tina answers.

"With any luck, she will be removed from our list of things to be concerned about," Milenna informs them.

"Getting some work done is she?" Mandy asks.

"All three of them, actually," Milenna returns. "It seems the doctor in charge of them has recently been able to lay her hands on some data that should have been made available to the design teams from the beginning. She is in the process of installing some new parts on all three of them as we speak."

"Here's hoping everything goes well," Tina offers up, raising her water glass in a toast.

"Agreed," the other teachers answer, raising their own glasses.

Checking her ships chrono, Milenna suddenly stands up and tells the others, "Sorry to cut this short, but the automated experiment pod that was sent into orbit for me a few weeks ago is due back shortly, and I'd like to be there when the transport comes in."

"Hope your experiments turn up something interesting," Tina tells her as she starts to move off.

"How's she coming?" Jura asks, as she and Kaze check in with Zoe.

"Better. I've almost got the new arm configured," she answers. "How is the flight pack coming along?"

"We've almost got the plans worked out," Kaze answers. "We were going to do some more work on it today, but Sumegi had to report to the base, so we decided to wait for her, since she has a better grasp of how it's _supposed_ to work than we do."

"Makes sense," Zoe agrees. "Funny, Kiryuu had to report to the base this afternoon too. I wonder what's going on with them?"

"Let's hope that it includes Katsura, and the end result improves her disposition," Kaze mutters.

Zoe and Jura can't help but smirk at that one, with Jura adding, "Does she have a knob or something so that they can adjust her attitude?"

"Hell if I know. It would be nice if she would lighten up though," Zoe agrees.

"Heh, maybe they are all getting some new hardware installed. Or should I call it software? Either way, it would mean that Katsura could get laid. God knows she needs it," Kaze snickers.

"That was a low blow, miss sexbot," Jura tells her with a swat to the arm.

"Maybe, but I don't hear either of you arguing with me," Kaze grins, before heading back upstairs.

"Ms. Milenna? The people from the states are here with your package," a customs officer announces as Milenna stares out over the airport, wondering what is taking so long.

"It's about time. I was expecting them an hour ago," she complains as she follows the man out the door.

"We apologize for the delay, but you will understand why we felt the need to do a few additional checks when you see it," he says back over his shoulder.

"Why don't I like the sound of that," she mutters.

The man merely maintains his silence as he leads her down to the proper part of the airport to claim the automated lab unit that had been sent into space on the Americans last shuttle mission.

"Miss Milenna I presume?" a new voice asks once they arrive in the secured room with the unit.

"You know of another scientist with a translucent body the color of blue raspberry jello?" she shoots back.

"She does have a point," a second voice adds, the smirk apparent in her voice.

"And I assume that you two are the babysitters from NASA with my Laboratory unit?" Milenna smirks back.

"Yes, but we originally came along to inform you that the readouts indicated a problem with the unit about two hours into the scheduled test timeframe," the woman tells her.

"However, when we unloaded the unit from the shuttle's cargo bay, we discovered that its structural integrity had been compromised. There was an odd bulge on one side, and the seam along that side had been broken," the man adds.

"That's odd. I constructed it out of the same specialized alloy that was used in my ship. Even if some careless handler had dropped it from your shuttles launch gantry it shouldn't even of had a dent," Milenna tells them, the puzzlement she feels plain in her voice.

"It gets stranger," the customs man adds.

"Doesn't it always?" Milenna adds with a long suffering look.

"When we unloaded it from the transport, we found it in _this _condition," the woman continues, shoving the rolling divider that was concealing the unit out of the way.

"What the bloody hell?" Milenna blurts out in surprise.

"We were really hoping you could tell us," the man adds.

Impaling the unit in several places are greenish white crystals, making it look like some kind of strange square deep sea mine or something.

Crouching down near the unit, Milenna starts to examine it when she notices the holes the crystals are occupying. "These…crystals punched through the housing from the inside. But I didn't send anything like that up on the mission?" she tells them, confused for the moment.

"Then what the hell is it?" the woman asks.

"I don't know, yet, but…..they seem familiar," Milenna answers,

"What _was_ in the unit for your tests?" the man asks.

"Tissue and blood samples from the K-morphs that can feed on radiation. I wanted to test the effects of unusual radiation wavelengths on them," Milenna answers. Then her eyes widen as she blurts out, "My god…..Crystal!"

"Yeah, they are still sticking out all over it," the customs man says.

"No, that is the name of one of the girls who's samples I sent up there," Milenna clarifies.

"What makes you think it was her samples that caused this?" the woman asks.

"Her Kaiju half is Space Godzilla. And she shares its ability to feed on Cosmic Radiation. But since she is trapped down here, she's never been exposed to it before. I never imagined that a few samples from her, combined with the radiation would be able to produce something like _this,_" she explains, ending by waving a hand at the lab unit.

Just then, the sound of tearing metal surprises the lot of them into silence, as a pair of slender green/white daggers punch through the top of the unit, and proceed to trace three sides of a square in one of the larger open areas.

"_Everyone OUT!"_ Milenna orders, shoving the humans toward the door. Then she quickly patches a call through her ships com system. "This is Milenna. I'm currently at the airport, and I think we have a situation. I'm going to need backup."

As Milenna finishes her call for help, the cut patch curls back like a sardine can. She can only stare in shocked surprise at what slowly floats up out of the unit.

"Someone turn that damn alarm off, and tell me what the hell is going on!" Dr. Tokai yells, as all the team members quickly back away from the MG-girls to keep from accidentally damaging them if they are startled again.

"Doctor! It's an alert! One of the teachers called in an emergency from the airport!" one of the techs calls, after checking for her.

"_SONOVABITCH!"_ the doctor snarls with feeling. "We are in the middle of downloading Katsura's mind into a new cyber brain, and if we try to do anything before it's done, she will die. And Kiryuu and Sumegi have parts scattered across half the repair area! Why do they always wait until we can't do a damn thing to cause trouble?"

"What should we do, Ma'am?" the same tech asks.

"Get me General Takahara! If anyone has a contingency plan ready for this kind of situation, then he will," she finishes under her breath as the tech quickly makes the call and hands over the headset.

"So what do you have in mind for the rest of the afternoon?" Sera asks as she and her sister welcome Kaze and Jura back upstairs.

"And please don't say watching Jackie Chan movies," Kera adds with a smirk.

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking of something along the lines of the four of us, a tube of lube, a few toys, a large bed, and a lot of moaning, groaning, and screaming," Kaze grins back. "Sound like a plan?"

The twins and Jura share a look, before they all turn back to Kaze and say, "Works for me."

"Then let's go," Kaze grins as she jerks a thumb over her shoulder at the stairs.

They make it halfway up, before the twins jerk as they receive a message over their coms.

"Blast it!" Sera growls, as she turns and rushes for the front door.

"What's wrong?" Jura calls after her.

"Emergency at the airport!" Kera calls back as she rushes out after her sister.

Jura stares up at Kaze. When Kaze nods, they turn and rush out after their friends.

"Where is the problem?" Sera demands as she and her sister land near a crowd gathered around the customs lockup building.

"You guys want a hand?" Kaze asks, as she lands behind them and sets Jura back on her feet.

"Let us take the lead, and act like part of our team," Kera stage whispers to them, before motioning for them to follow along.

"In there," the customs man from before answers Sera, pointing toward the building, just as there is a loud crash from within.

"Okay, now _what_ is the problem?" Kera asks.

"We don't know. When something started to rip its way out of the lab module, Milenna ordered us to run, and sealed the door. It wasn't till we got out here that we realized she wasn't with us," the woman from NASA answers.

"Alright. Possible hostage situation, definite rescue op, still unknown as to whether it's a containment or S&D mission after that," Sera says to her sister, including Kaze and Jura in when her sister nods.

"Understood," Kaze answers, with Jura nodding her own understanding of the situation.

"But getting Milenna out in one piece is the important thing right? We worry about the rest after we are sure she's safe," Jura demands.

"You got it," Kera confirms. "Now give us a little room. We're going to armor up before we head in."

Once Jura and Kaze have cleared a large enough area, the twins activate their drones, and initiate their transformation to their battle forms.

"Elgo Formation!" Sera calls as the purple black energy sphere grows from the circular gem on her chest plate, hiding her from sight within.

"Elgo Flame!" Kera calls in unison with her sister, a globe of green energy hiding her from sight like her sister.

In moments both energy globes have lifted off the ground, and the drones have vanished into them. Seconds later, both globes shatter, letting the girls drop back to the ground.

"Goddess Sigma Gravion!" Sera yells as she hits the ground, energy crackling as she cracks her knuckles.

"Flame Empress, Sol Gravion!" Kera announces, flames dancing around her form for a moment, before vanishing in time to her making a slashing motion with the drill mounted on her right arm.

"Ready?" Kaze asks, having taken up a ready position near the door.

"Jura, you wait here. If whatever is in there makes it past us, you're the last line before it gets to the civilians," Sera orders her.

"Right," Jura agrees, turning her back on the three robots, and moving back toward the crowd. "Just be careful!" she calls back before they go in.

Kaze raises a hand in acknowledgment, before following the twins into the building.

"What made you two follow us?" Sera asks Kaze over a com channel, so that their voices don't give away their approach.

"Well, we thought you might need some help. We know you didn't ask, and you took off before we could offer, so we just trailed you," Kaze returns.

"Backup is never turned down," Kera adds over the channel, causing Sera to nod in agreement.

"Why did you guys get called anyway?" Kaze asks as the trio cautiously makes their way deeper into the building. "I would think that the Mecha Godzilla Team would get sent on something like this."

"Apparently, they were in the middle of some extensive maintenance, and couldn't be brought back on line fast enough to be of any use. Since we are basically Military Reservists, they sent us the scramble order with what little they had, which wasn't a hell of a lot," Sera answers her.

"Well, let's hope it's not too ugly down here. I actually _like_ Milenna. I really don't want to end up cleaning her off a wall," Kaze adds.

"Thanks for the pleasant visual," Kera mutters, as they approach the lockup section, just as the door is blown off the hinges from within.

"_Sometimes I hate being right,"_ Milenna thinks as she backs away from the lab unit.

Slowly rising through the hole it had cut, a small, blue/green K-girl with translucent silver hair appears, a faint green glow enveloping her body, most noticeable near the green/white crystals that rise from her shoulders. As the girl slowly rotates to take in her surroundings, Milenna sees that the crystal formations follow the expected pattern, and travel the length of the girls spine and tail, ending in a small spear like arrangement at the tip of her tail. Milenna puts the girls physical age at early teens, and her first impression of the girls disposition is a mix between curious and malicious, as she begins levitating objects, disassembling them, then destroying them with a Corona beam, before moving to the next object. After removing a few more objects in this fashion, the girl begins growing small crystals through the floor, and launching them at the objects, much in the same way Crystal can use her spires as missiles.

Milenna is keeping a running mental commentary as she observes the girls actions, constantly comparing her abilities to Crystals, and wondering how the girl can so quickly divine what each object she is inspecting is for, before destroying it's remains.

This all comes to an abrupt halt, when Milenna feels herself lifted from her hiding place, and brought before the child's inquisitive gaze. Milenna flinches reflexively as the child unleashes a Corona beam, that twists past her without harm, to obliterate the door, blasting its remains out into the hall.

"_Well, that's not a good start,"_ Kaze thinks as she follows the others as they break into a run toward where the door used to be mounted.

The sight that greets them stops them cold, as Milenna is held a foot off the floor, her and the girl slowly orbiting each other in the center of the room.

"Put her down and back away from her," Kera orders, being the first to recover, and step into the room.

The girl turns her attention from her captive for a moment, before lashing out with a telekinetic backhand that knocks Kera back through the doorway.

"I think she's going to resist," Kaze deadpans, while Kera shakes off the hit.

"Ya think?" Kera returns sarcastically as she picks herself up.

"Put Milenna down, and back away, or we will use force to make you do so," Sera tells the child as she takes her sisters place, the handle of her energy lash in her hand, but un-activated.

The child's response this time is to launch several of the crystals she had grown from the floor at Sera.

A bit better prepared for a violent reaction, Sera activates her energy lash, the purple ribbon of energy shattering the crystal projectiles before they can get close enough to be a true threat.

While Sera deals with the missiles, Kaze crouches down and launches her Photon Beams under the attack, hitting the girl in the gut, and knocking her across the room to slam into the far wall. Milenna drops to the floor as the girls concentration is broken.

"I don't think you should have done that," Milenna tells them as she scuttles away from the girl and toward the perceived safety of the Mecha Girls.

"It shook you loose, didn't it?" Kaze asks as the girl picks herself up off the floor, and turns her entire attention to dealing with them.

"It also pissed her off," Kera adds, as the girls eyes narrow in anger as she floats back off the ground.

The child proves just how mad she is when she gabs all of them in her telekinetic grip, and launches all three mechs out of the building, through the wall, before following, with Milenna in tow.

Like the rest of the crowd, Jura's attention is immediately grabbed when the mech girls burst through the wall to end up in a pile. "Kaze!" she screams as she breaks into a sprint, putting herself between the downed girls, and the building in time for her to face off with the emerging k-girl, and her captive.

The little Space Godzilla girl brings herself and Milenna to a halt just outside the building, where she looks Jura over for several moments.

"I don't want to hurt you little one, but if you don't put her down, and stop causing trouble, you won't give me any choice," Jura calls to the child.

Her answer is a Corona beam that hurls her back into the mech girls.

"Alright you little brat, but if you insist on fighting, at least put Milenna down, so she doesn't end up in the cross fire," Jura growls, getting back to her feet.

The child tips her head to the side as if considering this, before Milenna floats across the field and is deposited gently near the downed girls, who are starting to stir once more at this point.

"Thank-" Jura begins, before being yanked off her feet and slammed into a wall by the girls TK powers.

"You are beginning to get on my bad side kid," Jura mutters, annoyed at having been sucker punched twice in a row.

"Careful Jura! She has all the same powers as Crystal!" Kaze yells as the trio get back to their feet.

Memories of her first meeting with Crystal, and what she witnessed while they were rescuing Kumi and the kids race through Jura's mind. The child just offers up a suddenly sunny smile, before summoning a small forest of crystal spires around behind her.

"Ah, crap," Jura mutters, as the spires begin feeding power to the child. "Well, only one way this is going to end now," Jura says, resigned to being forced to hurt the girl to end this.

Before she can unleash a radiation blast, the girl nails her in the chest with another Corona beam, then grabs her in a TK grip and begins dragging her across the pavement, using her like a normal child would a piece of chalk on the sidewalk.

"Sera!" Kaze yells, suddenly realizing what is about to happen. "Get a hold of the tower! Have them wave everyone off and order them to a safe distance!"

"What? Why?" she calls back.

"Oh, My, God, her shockwave! It's almost pure Electo-Magnetic energy!" Milenna adds, also realizing the danger to everyone else.

"Understood!" Sera calls back, quickly filling the control tower in on the possible danger, until this matter can be settled, one way or the other.

It is only pure luck that the nearest plane coming in for a landing is still ten minutes out, when Jura begins fighting back. Her shockwave not only knocks the girl to the ground, along with most everyone else, but it also grounds every craft at the airport, until their systems can be torn down and manually reset.

"Damn. I didn't realize how strong she could make that," Kera mutters, holding her head until the static from the attack stops washing across her vision and her systems stabilize.

"Just be glad that we were built to be able to withstand EMPs or else we'd be crashed like every other technical doohickey around here," Kaze smirks back at her.

Jura and the girl both climb to their feet at roughly the same time, the child doesn't seem fazed in the least by the fact that Jura is just dirtied and her clothes ruined by what she had done.

"I still don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you keep doing whatever you want," Jura tells the girl, her radiation blast erupting as soon as she finishes her comment.

The girl merely grins, as she counters the blast with the same type of crystalline barrier shield Crystal produces.

"Oh, fuck me," Jura mutters, when the smoke clears and it becomes apparent that she didn't do any damage at all.

"She's going to need help," Milenna tells the mech girls. "She's trying to not hurt the girl more than needed, but the child is too strong for her to be using kid gloves! Spread out, and take out her power sources!"

"How?" Kera demands, having never faced this type of opponent before.

"Like this," Kaze says, her forearms launching and smashing through the girls' crystal power station, leaving only a few of the spires intact after their return to their owner.

The girl scowls in anger, and turns her attention to the mechs, only to have Jura tag her in the side with a radiation blast, slamming the girl into, and through, one of the spires that Kaze had missed.

"Don't forget about me," Jura tells her as she stalks closer to the child.

"Keep her attention divided! Spread out!" Sera orders, taking to the air, and landing across from Kaze, while her sister does the same to land opposite Jura.

"She won't be able to counter all their attacks. Not being surrounded like that," Milenna says to herself as she watches the child unsteadily stand back up.

"Alright. You can all stop shooting at me now. This isn't any fun any longer," the girl announces in a clear tone. "It would seem that I've learned all I can from this. I'd like you to take me to the school now, so that I may learn more."

"You, you can speak our language?" Milenna asks, shocked once more by the child's capabilities.

"Thanks to you," the girl calls back. "I've been listening to your thoughts since before I emerged from the laboratory unit. That is why I didn't harm you, and why I refused to let you go when they showed up."

"So what's your name, kid?" Kaze demands, still ready to let the girl have a full power blast if she even thinks the child is going to do something.

"I find it strange that I cannot read your minds like I can these two," the girl says, turning to face each of the mech girls in turn, before turning back to Kaze once more. "But it seems that she," the girl adds, pointing at Milenna, "Thinks of me as one of something called "The Shard". I think Shard should do as a name."

"Do you promise to behave? No more using your powers to cause destruction, or to harm or frighten people, just to amuse yourself?" Jura asks her.

Shard seems to think about this, but is actually once more scanning both Milenna and Jura's minds, to understand everything. "Yes, I believe I can make that promise, and live up to it," she finally answers.

"Sera, if you can, I would like you to stay here, and assist me in calming everyone one down and assuring them that the problem has been handled. I would like the rest of you to escort Shard to the school. Vol-Tina and Mandy will be waiting for you. I want to get the child settled before we drop this little bombshell on the others who are going to have personal stakes in her existence," Milenna begins laying out instructions.

"Kera, once you are sure that things won't erupt again, I want you to go report in for us," Sera adds. "With any luck, Kiryuu and the others will be back online by then, and be able to respond to any other problems."

"Got it," Kera agrees.

In a surprising display of trust, given what Shard has proven herself capable of, Kera then disengages her battle armor, reconfiguring her drones into their "Gradius" configuration and stepping aboard the vehicle.

"That is odd. Why did you remove your armor? And why did it reconfigure into this strange vehicle?" Shard asks, crouching down to peer at the Gradius.

"C'mon with me, and I'll answer what questions I can on the way," Kera says, offering a hand to the child.

Shard looks at the only two she can scan, and peers into their minds to find if she can truly trust Kera or not. What she finds in Jura's mind confuses her, but also reassures her that Kera has no other plans for her besides doing exactly what they have been talking about. "I'm still confused as to why I am unable to read your minds," she admits as she takes Kera's hand and allows herself to be positioned so that Kera can make sure she doesn't fall off.

"That is one of the things we will explain to you, while you explain to us why it is that you CAN read minds," Kaze smirks back at her, before Kera launches.

"I ruin more clothes this way," Jura grumbles, shaking her head at the condition of her outfit.

"That's why Darcy loves you," Kaze grins, lifting her girlfriend into her arms, and extending her wings, launching after Kera.

"So what now?" Sera asks Milenna.

"The most tedious part of any K-girl altercation," Milenna answers, surveying the damage caused as they had tried to subdue Shard. "The cleanup."

"Errrrr…..So how long have we been out?" Katsura asks as she comes back online after her upgrades.

"Most of the day," Dr. Tokai answers her. "And of course, there was trouble while you were down, but the reserves managed to handle it with minimal difficulties."

"We have a reserve unit?" Sumegi asks as she returns to the waking world. "And I feel weird."

"You're not the only one," Kiryuu adds, as she too rises. "It feels like I have something pressing against my chest, but all I can see is my armor."

"Hopefully it won't be anything that will cause either of you any difficulties," Katsura tells them as she starts to physically inspect herself.

"What is that?" Sumegi asks, looking around the room. "I've got a new data feed, and it's somehow connected to this weird feeling," she adds, starting to move around the room.

"Here, try this," Dr. Tokai tells her, removing something from her pocket and tossing it to the copper haired MG girl.

"A chocolate bar? Why am I reacting to food? And why does it register so high on this new data feed?" Sumegi asks, holding the candy bar up to her face.

"Because, you now have a sense of smell and taste, as well as the same ability to process food for energy that the Shogun Maidens possessed," the doctor answers her with a smile.

"She can actually _eat?_ Why?" Katsura demands.

"To make her more human of course. I thought I had made that clear before, when I was chewing you out over your actions at the school," the doctor calmly answers, giving Katsura a strange look.

"But this must make her incredibly energy in-efficient. It doesn't make any sense to me," Katsura counters.

"On the contrary, she still retains her old reactor and power systems. This is an auxiliary unit, meant to be used to supply her with power when there is no available way for her to recharge normally," the doctor returns.

"This stuff is AWESOME!" Sumegi exclaims, pulling everyone's attention back to her. They all watch as she enjoys every bit of chocolate, smearing a bit across her lips in the process.

"I'm glad that you approve," the doctor smiles at her.

"Sumegi?" Katsura asks, getting her sisters attention.

"Yes?" the younger sister answers, a wary tone in her voice.

"You have a bit of chocolate on your face," Katsura tell her, a slight smile on her face, causing her sisters to stare at her in surprise.

"Katsura, I'd like you to take Sumegi to the commissary. Don't let her over do it, but let her try some different foods," the doctor orders. "I need to talk to Kiryuu about her upgrades."

"As you wish. Come, Sumegi. Let's see if they have that thing that the other girls talk about…Pizza?" Katsura says, as she leads Sumegi out of the room.

Once they are gone, Kiryuu demands, "_What _did you people do to her? She's never been that nice, or understanding, before."

"We downloaded her mind into a more advanced cyber brain. It allowed us to add several of the sub routines that you and Sumegi enjoy, but that her old brain was too primitively constructed to support," the doctor answers with a smile.

"Well, this should definitely make her easier to deal with," Kiryuu smiles back, before scowling and rubbing her hands across her chest plate. "But something is still wrong with me. The feeling of pressure against my chest is still there, and my surface pressure sensors are malfunctioning, because they are not registering properly."

The doctor silences her with a single finger against her lips, causing her eyes to widen in shock.

"Ah, I see you just noticed that we upgraded your sensory net as well. What do you think?" the doctor asks, as Kiryuu begins gently poking at her own face.

"I….This….Is this _skin?_" she asks in amazement, as her fingers sink into her cheeks.

"Yes. We didn't have time to manufacture enough to completely replace your outer layer with it, so we made due with just your face, torso, and hands," the doctor answers her. "And as for your surface pressure sensors on your chest plate, they are not malfunctioning. They simply don't exist any longer. Your chest plate is now, nothing more than a piece of armor. Once we are able to complete this upgrade for you, _ALL _of your armor will be like that. And underneath, you will have a synthetic skin, every bit as sensitive as any other k-girls, so you will need your armor to protect it."

"That still doesn't explain this feeling of pressure," Kiryuu reminds her.

"Well, I think one of the others gave you a bit more than they were supposed to while I was occupied with the emergency earlier," the doctor tells her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kiryuu demands.

"You can change this sequence later, but for now, this will unlock your removable armor sections," the doctor informs her. "Alpha, Alpha, Omega, Delta, Epsilon, Omega."

Once Dr. Tokai utters the last part of the command string, Kiryuu's chest and back plates of armor unseal, and extend a bit from her body, leaving her room to lift them over her head. As she tips her head up to fit it through the openings, she notices the long gaps in the back armor, meaning that her dorsal plates are still a part of her, rather than connected to her armor. As she lowers the armor in front of herself, she brushes her chest, and realizes that she suddenly _has _a chest. A fully developed and sensitive _female chest_, complete with a thirty four inch bust, and even more sensitive nipples.

"How…" is all she can say, as she stares down at her own chest, afraid to touch them, for fear that she is somehow hallucinating that they are there.

"Well, that explains the pressure. Someone slipped you a little larger package than I was planning to install. That's why you felt like you where being squeezed under your armor. You where," the doctor tells her.

"But….But why? How? Why now?" Kiryuu babbles in shock.

"Why? Because you are just the first one to get this upgrade. How? Same way that all of these upgrades happened. And that is thanks to General Takahara, and the schematics he gave me, detailing the construction methods of the base frame and systems of the Shogun Maidens type Cyber Doll soldier prototypes. And as for why now, we just managed to get them all built. Unfortunately, as I said, we simply didn't have enough time to fabricate enough of the systems to give all three of you a complete upgrade, so we had to spread what we _could_ make between the three of you," the doctor answers her, smiling warmly at her antics.

"Then, I…I'm," Kiryuu asks, unable to finish putting the thought into words.

"Just as much of a woman as your girlfriend," the doctor grins at her. "You are going to need to calibrate your systems to your new equipment. I suggest asking Zoe to assist you with that," she adds. "I'll see to it that you are removed from the duty rotation for today and tomorrow. Just remember to check in periodically."

"_THANKYOU!_" Kiryuu squeals, pulling the doctor into a hug.

"Ease up…..Need air….Crushing ribs…" she gasps, until Kiryuu finally releases her, and tears out of the room, only stopping long enough to replace her armor, her only goal at the moment to find Zoe, and take her upgrades for a test drive.

"So what brings you two silver ladies down here? I was under the impression that you didn't have to eat?" one of the on duty cooks asks when he catches sight of Katsura and Sumegi.

"I got upgraded!" Sumegi blurts out cheerfully.

"She has just been given the ability to smell and taste, in addition to being able to process food for energy. Dr. Tokai asked me to bring her down here, so she could experiment with different foods," Katsura tells them as they watch Sumegi sniff at each container of food, a look of wonder on her face.

"If the Doc keeps putting things like that in you girls, soon enough the only difference between you and the other k-girls is going to be a higher metal content," the cook tells Katsura.

"I'm beginning to believe that that is the idea," Katsura tells him with a wry smirk.

"What is this stuff?" Sumegi asks, pointing to a bottle of sauce.

"Wassabe. If you don't have a taste for it, it's _really_ hot," the cook warns her.

"And this?" she asks, pointing at a green glass bottle.

"Lemon juice. It's really sour," the cook's helper chimes in.

"Okay, for starters, I want a bowl of rice, and those two bottles, so I can try them out. I'll be back for other stuff in a little while!" Sumegi tells them.

"We'll be here," the cooks helper smiles at her as her hands over the bowl and bottles.

"I've seen some of the motor pool guys mix that wassabe and lemon juice concentrate before," the cook tells Katsura.

"How did they handle it?" she asks.

The cook smirks, and tells her, "Oh, they didn't _eat_ it. They used it to eat the rust off an old engine block. After an hour with that stuff on it, you would swear someone polished that hunk of iron."

Katsura looks horrified, before she turns to Sumegi, only to find both bottles half empty, and her sister with a huge grin on her face as she gleefully shovels the last of the rice into her mouth.

"That stuff was great!" she gushes as she practically skips back up to where Katsura and the cooks await her.

Before Sumegi can set up another order, several enlisted personnel and a few of the techs from the MG support team file in, talking loudly amongst themselves, and oblivious to whom is in the room.

"I tell ya, it's wild. We set her up with a set of tits like you wouldn't believe, especially on a friggin' robot," one of the techs tells the others. "Not only that, but she's got a snatch too! Who wants to bet that the steel bitch can suck the chrome off a car bumper?"

"Wonder if they are planning to do that to all three of them?" one of the enlisted guys wonders out loud.

"There just ain't no call for talking about you girls like that," the cook mutters to Katsura.

"Relax. I know that not everyone is as crude as that lot," she tells him. "Let me handle this," she says as she heads toward the group.

"How should I know man? Personally, I don't really like it when a weapon like that, which is already pretty damn unstable, is set up to act even more like a real woman. You boys know just how unstable most of them are, right?" the tech grins, playing to his crowd.

"No, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?" Katsura requests, as she lifts the man out of his chair with one hand on his shoulder.

He starts to struggle, saying, "Put me down, you chrome plated k-bitch!"

She merely turns him around so that she can look him in the face, and pleasantly informs him, "It's not nice to talk trash about others behind their backs. And talking garbage like that about my sisters where I can hear it is bad for your health. Understand?" she finishes with her voice dropping in to a menacing growl, and her optics brightening to the point where everyone present is sure that she is about to fire.

"Perfectly," the man gulps, positive that he's about to die.

"Good. Now get out of my sight. I'll be making a report about your conduct to Dr. Tokai, personally, so don't be surprised when you are called to answer for what has occurred here this evening," Katsura tells him, dropping him unceremoniously on his butt, and smirking as he scuttles out of her reach, before scrambling to his feet, and bolting out the door. As the rest look at Katsura in shocked awe, she turns to them and demands, "Do any of the rest of you have anything else to add on this subject?"

The only response she gets is several head shakes, and a few who simply get up and leave.

"That was _awesome!_" Sumegi cheers.

"I'm actually quite impressed. The old you would either have ignored it all, or decided that they needed to be disciplined, here and now. You've come far," Dr. Tokai says as she enters from the other end of the room, having witnessed the entire incident.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let them keep speaking about us like that, but harming them was out of the question. The best I could do was some humiliation, and report the matter," Katsura answers her.

"Completely understandable, and you are wrong if you think I am upset. I am quite pleased with your method of ….enlightenment. And don't worry, I _will_ be having a discussion with him later. You girls, while public figures, are still pretty much top secret, at least where your systems are concerned. But for now, I think you two should head home. Oh, and I've removed Kiryuu from the duty roster for the next two days, so she can focus on calibrating her new systems," the doctor tells the MG sisters. "And she promised that she would check in, but I imagine she is going to be busy, so cut her a little slack if she's late."

"Understood, ma'am. Let's go Sumegi," Katsura responds, leading the way out.

"She's more human, but she is still all military," the cook observes as the girls leave.

"At this point, I'm quite pleased with that assessment," the doctor tells him, before taking her own leave.

"So that is Daikaiju High School. Milenna thought of it often, but she has apparently never seen it from the air like this before," Shard says as she takes in the view during their approach.

"Yeah, only the ones who get to see this on a regular basis are the fliers," Kera agrees.

"I will have to begin taking flights, for I find this view pleasing," Shard tells her, taking every moment she can to enjoy watching the few people who are still on campus.

"Well, I think that will be up to your new keeper," Kera tells her, as they come in for a landing.

"Keeper?" Shard asks, not understanding the reference.

"Children are generally kept under the guardianship of a qualified adult," Kaze tells her as she and Jura land.

"How does that pertain to me?" Shard demands.

"Heh. Guess you didn't notice kid, but you _are _a kid," Kera tells her. "Therefore you will need a guardian."

"And who do you think would be willing to take on the responsibility?" Shard asks.

"That would be me," Tina tells her, as she and Mandy approach.

Shard quickly attempts to scan their minds, but can only get anything from Mandy.

"So you are going to be the teacher for the "younger" k-girls like myself?" Shard says to Tina. "I think you will soon discover that I don't require much instruction."

"Perhaps not in matters of intelligence, since you have already rifled through the minds of both Milenna and Mandy, in addition to who knows how many other people who had no idea what you where up to, but you are sorely lacking in etiquette, and knowing when it is proper and allowable to use powers such as your telepathy on others," Tina shoots back, Black moving up alongside her, while the other lions keep watch from various points around them.

"Why wouldn't I use my powers to learn what I don't already know?" Shard asks, confused.

"Come with me, little one, and I will attempt to explain it to you," Tina answers, placing a hand behind Shard's shoulder, and guiding her toward the building where the Junior's school will be.

"They going to be alright together?" Kaze asks as they walk off.

"I think so," Mandy answers. "Tina _is_ going to be their teacher after all. No reason she can't get a head start on this one."

"Good point," Jura smiles.

"I thought so," Mandy smiles back.

"Well, I've got to go fill in the suits on what happened, so I'll try to hook up with you two later on," Kera says to Kaze and Jura. "Later Teach'," she says to Mandy, before igniting the jets on the Gradius, and taking to the air.

"You girls have all the best toys," Mandy smirks, before walking off, shaking her head.

"Well, I like to think so," Jura grins.

"Heh, I'm sure you do," Kaze smirks back at her, before launching the both of them toward home once more.

"Think that the kid will stay out of trouble for at least a few days?" Kaze asks.

"I think that will depend on if Tina can keep her mind occupied or not," Jura returns as they come in for a landing at the mansion.

"Speaking of kids and keeping occupied," Kaze grins, as she waves at Immomu and Nuri as they walk toward the front door.

"Nice timing guys," Jura tells them. "Here to check on stuff for Maizy again?"

"Yup!" Nuri chirps while Immomu smiles shyly and nods.

"C'mon then. You guys know the way to her room, so we'll leave you to it," Kaze tells them as she leads the way into the mansion.

"Alright, you guys head upstairs, and I'll bring up something for you to munch on in a bit," Jura tells them with a smile.

"Thank you!" Immomu calls to her as the pair of Juniors head upstairs, while Jura moves toward the kitchen.

"I'm going to check on Zoe," Kaze calls after Jura, as she turns toward the basement.

"Alright. See if she wants anything while you're down there," Jura calls back to her.

Kaze is about to answer when there is a knock at the door.

"Yes?" she asks as she opens the door.

"Is your sister home? And you know which one I'm talking about," Kiryuu asks, grinning as she adds the second part.

"I was just about to go check on her. C'mon and let's see how she's doing," Kaze returns, opening the door wide.

"Soon, kiddo. We'll have you back in action real soon," Zoe murmurs to Maizy's still form as she gently strokes the girls hair back from her face.

"And how is Mad Doctor Mazinger doing this afternoon?" Kaze grins as she leads Kiryuu down the stairs.

Kiryuu can't help but grin at that and tell the larger girl, "When you say that it makes me think that she needs to have her hair in a frizzed out beehive hairdo or something."

"Not in this lifetime," Zoe returns dryly, despite the smile she wears because of the imagery that the others are creating.

"Jura wanted to know if you wanted anything, since she's fixing a snack for Immomu and Nuri," Kaze tells her.

"Those two are back again eh? Nah, I'm fine," she returns to her sister, who offers up a quick two finger salute before turning to head back upstairs. Then Zoe turns to her girlfriend, and asks, "And what brings my favorite little dragon down to the dungeon to check on me?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," she returns with a smirk, barely able to keep her hands to herself. "Just wanted to make sure that you're not overworking yourself again."

"Oh, your last "lesson" on that subject is still quite fresh," Zoe grins. "And to prove that I _did _learn from it, shall we go upstairs?" she adds, offering her hand to the silver mech-dragon.

"Oh, definitely. I have a few things I'd like your input on as well," Kiryuu tells her, taking her hand.

"Oh?" Zoe returns with an arched eyebrow as they ascend the stairs.

Kiryuu just gives her a secretive smile, as they continue through the ground floor and head up the main stair to the second story, and Zoe's bedroom.

"So what are you guys up to in here?" Jura asks as she sets down a plate of sliced PB&J sandwiches and a pair of juice boxes.

"Umm…" Immomu trails off, positive that Maizy wouldn't want her to know the truth, but unable to lie.

"Maizy has a web site that she was working on," Nuri tells her. "But since she was hurt before she could get it up and running, I've been using what I can learn about the coding to work on it for her. I hope to have it ready for her to fine tune as a sort of "welcome back" present when she wakes up."

"Good luck then," Jura smiles at them as she turns to leave.

"Thanks!" they chirp together as the door closes.

"That was too close," Immomu says with a sigh of relief once they are alone.

"No kidding. Maizy would skin us, once she was repaired, _again_, after they figured out what the site _is._ That's why I told her that it was just some bare code, rather than a working site," Nuri agrees.

"Hey, what's that?" Immomu asks, looking over Nuri's shoulder and spotting a blinking icon on the screen.

"Let's find out," Nuri answers, clicking on the icon, and blowing the resulting image up to full screen.

"Is that Kiryuu?" Immomu asks in shock as they watch the silver mecha-dragon remove her torso armor, and gauntlets, revealing silver flesh no different from Zoe's.

"Looks like someone's gotten herself an upgrade. One that Maizy is going to be kicking herself for missing," Nuri answers, quickly activating the recorder hidden in Zoe's room, so that the entire encounter is saved for Maizy when she wakes up.

"So what did you want to ask me about?" Zoe asks as she leads the way into her room.

"Nothing much," Kiryuu answers, before quickly spinning Zoe to face her, and pulling her into a deep kiss.

Zoe is amazed at how soft Kiryuu's lips are, and how skillfully she is employing her tongue during the kiss. When they break apart, Zoe gasps, and demands, "What has happened to you?"

"You actually," Kiryuu grins. "Our new commander has given Dr. Tokai the "Blank Maiden" schematics. She's been upgrading us to be more like you and your old team. I get to test out what artificial skin they could produce, and will be the first of us to be completely outfitted with it."

"They're making you more like us?" Zoe sputters in shocked surprise.

"Yup," Kiryuu answers her, her grin getting wider. "Although I do need your help with something," she adds, with a slight pout.

"And what would that be?" Zoe asks, still struggling to come to grips with the fact that her girlfriend is in the process of being transformed from a robot into a Cyber Doll.

"Without a functioning Cyber Doll to take the proper setting from, the techs couldn't calibrate my new subsystems. I'd like your help in "fine tuning" my new parts," she answers, silently keying in the command string that will release her armor's locks.

"What do you need me to do?" Zoe asks, before trailing off as Kiryuu's torso armor releases, and she pulls off her armored gloves, revealing the new silver flesh of her hands. Zoe's mouth goes dry as she watches Kiryuu pull her torso armor over her head, revealing her charms to her lover.

"So what do you think?" Kiryuu asks, dropping her torso armor on the floor.

"We shouldn't be watching this," Immomu tells Nuri. "They deserve to be able to do this in privacy, at least for the first time."

"Alright, we'll check out the footage later," Nuri reluctantly agrees, minimizing the window, and going back to updating Maizy's website with the other things that they had collected.

"Damn. That didn't take long," Kaze mutters as the first screams of pleasure reach them down stairs.

"Like we're any different when we go at it?" Jura smirks at her.

"True," Kaze reluctantly admits, putting her arm around Jura's shoulders where they sit together on the couch.

"Doctor!" Sumegi calls as she rushes back toward the doctors' office within the base.

"What is all the noise about?" Dr. Tokai growls as she storms out of her office in annoyance.

Sumegi is brought up short by the doctors display of temper. "Sorry ma'am," she offers, after snapping to attention.

"Office. Now," she orders the MG girl, turning her back on her and entering first.

By the time Sumegi gets through the door, and closes it behind her, the doctor is back behind her desk.

"So what brings you back so soon?" the doctor asks.

"I told Katsura to go ahead without me, because I wanted to ask you a few questions about the plans you are using to upgrade us," Sumegi answers.

"Oh?" is her sole response.

"Could I be allowed to study them?" she asks. "I'm helping to rebuild parts of Maizy, and the plans that we are all based on would be a big help, as you yourself have said more than once."

"That is odd. Kiryuu's reports have indicated that the two of you don't get along, so why are you assisting in her reconstruction?" the doctor asks.

"I offered a suggestion on revamping her destroyed flight gear as part of her reconstruction, and they accepted," Sumegi answers.

"And you want the schematics for?" the doctor asks.

"So that I can make sure that the equipment we've been constructing is compatible with her system. Maizy is the prototype after all, and the schematic is based on her design more than any others," Sumegi answers.

"This is a highly unusual request," the doctor informs her.

"I thought it might be, but it is also the best chance I have of making sure her new parts will be completely compatible with her," Sumegi agrees.

"Having the Mazingers owe us one wouldn't be a bad thing," she thinks aloud as she leans back in her chair. After a few moments, she motions Sumegi closer, and offers her the link to the computer on her desk.

Once Sumegi is connected, the doctor quickly taps in a command string, and downloads a copy of the "Blank Maiden" design schematics into her mind.

"You now have a copy of the designs. Don't make me regret having broken security to give them to you for this," she tells the mech girl.

"I'll do my best to make you proud of me ma'am," Sumegi tells her, her voice full of pride at being trusted with the plans.

"I'm sure you will. Now get out of here," she tells her with a smile. "I'm sure your sister is wondering about you."

"Yes, Ma'am," Sumegi agrees with a grin, before leaving the office in a rush. She barely clears the outer doors, before she ignites her jets and takes to the air and heads for the school, and the little lab she's built for herself in the basement for working on Maizy's flight gear.

Watching her from her office window, Dr. Tokai shakes her head in wonder. "_Who would have thought that they would want to be able to help mechs that are not even "one of theirs"? These girls…..One surprise after another, and for a change, I'm looking forward to the next one,"_ she thinks with a small smile as she returns to her workstation.

"This is great!" Sumegi cheers as she does a barrel roll for the hell of it. "Not only can I do a better job with Maizy's parts, I can convert those plans I got from the net, and make myself some playmates who won't think I'm a freak for liking anime!" she says to herself, the rushing wind whipping her words away as soon as they leave her vocalizer.

"Welcome back," Zoe grins, and Kiryuu's optics flicker back to life, in their normal yellow color.

"That…. I don't have any words to describe that. Is that what you feel every time you reach orgasm?" Kiryuu asks, her voice full of awe at what's happened to her since she revealed her new parts to Zoe.

"Not quite. You'll need to dial down the intensity just a bit, so that it doesn't knock you offline," Zoe tells her with a grin.

"Done," Kiryuu tells her, calling up her body's new sensitivity settings, and adjusting them.

"Good, because I've been just dying to use this on you," Zoe tells her, holding up a strap-on. "But first, I want to test a few other things."

Kiryuu gulps audibly when she sees the strap-on, and immediately starts to wonder if her new parts can contains something that large. "Like what?" she asks, her personalities warring between wanting to jump back into things with both feet, and letting Zoe "play" with her some more.

"Lay back, and trust me," Zoe tells her, getting up to all fours, and crawling up next to her.

"What are you planning?" Kiryuu asks, anticipation working on her, and getting her excited once more.

"Just want to test how your settings are configured," Zoe answers her. Then she rears up, and sits on her knees. Leaning over she takes a handful of her silver blond mane, and teasingly drags it up and down the exposed flesh of Kiryuu's body, grinning at the mecha dragons girls reactions.

"My _GOD!_" Kiryuu nearly screams, as the sensations of the tips of Zoe's hair running up and down her body bring her to the edge of another orgasm, but are not quite enough to take her over. At least until Zoe reaches up and tweaks her nipples, drawing yet another scream of pleasure from her, as she arches her back and claws at the bed. Once she recovers, without having passed out she is pleased to note, she looks up at Zoe and begs "Again."

"I think we can arrange that," Zoe grins at her, dropping her face down to nuzzle at her chest, causing Kiryuu to scream again.

"Hey, Sumegi!" Jura calls, as she and Kaze catch sight of the copper haired mecha girl walking toward the building where she and they have been constructing Maizy's new flight pack.

"Over here!" Sumegi waves back, waiting for the pair to catch up to her.

"I got the note you stuffed in my locker. You've got the flight pack configured to her systems?" Kaze asks. "How did you manage that without hooking it to her?"

"Dr. Tokai let me see the schematics that she is using to upgrade us," Sumegi tells them. "Maizy is the one those plans are based on. With that kind of data, it was easy to reconfigure the connector points and the wing compression so that it would still fit into the same space as her old one."

"Amazing," Jura murmurs as they walk down to the buildings' basement, and take a look at the deployed flight wings.

"Kid's not going to know how to act, first time she pops these things open," Kaze grins.

"Shall we take them back to the mansion so that they can be installed?" Sumegi asks.

"Hey, what's this stuff over here?" Jura asks, sticking her head into the next room.

"Just some left over junk," Sumegi tells her. "I'm thinking that some of it might be useful for my next project."

"And what would that be?" Kaze asks, as she touches the override panels on the surface of the pack that will be within Maizy's body causing the wings to fold and retract into a tight little bundle for instillation.

"None of your business," Sumegi shoots back, sticking out her tongue before grinning.

"Fair enough," Jura breaks in, before Kaze can make a scathing comeback.

"You know, with this ready to go in, it's only going to be a matter of days before she's ready to be brought back online," Kaze remarks as she hefts the compressed flight pack. "You have every right to be there when she wakes up, since you've helped us so much with this," she tells Sumegi.

"No. Maizy doesn't like me that much. I'd rather just know that I managed to help. Give her my best, when she wakes up," Sumegi answers.

"Alright. But you will be really high on the list of people we owe a favor to for this," Jura tells her.

"I'll hold you to that," Sumegi grins.

"Fair enough. C'mon, let's get this home, so Zoe can install it," Kaze says, before she heads for the exit, Jura in tow.

"I can't believe how many animals our teacher has," Nuri babbles as she and Immomu sit under a tree, eating their lunch on their first day of school.

"Hey guys!" Zuki cheers as she flies in and lands next to Immomu.

"Hello Zuki," Immomu greets their friend.

"I brought a new friend!" Zuki tells them, as a blue saurian girl with poofy pigtails walks up and shyly greets them.

"Hello. My name is Min-chan. Zuki invited me along, I hope that's alright," she says as she moves closer, finishing her speech with a deep bow.

"Pull up some yard, and have a seat," Nuri offers, waving a hand toward the side opposite Immomu.

"Arigoto," Min-chan responds with a smile as she seats herself of pulls her box lunch out.

"Look at the brat pack," a snide voice says from behind them, practically dripping with contempt.

"Gabriele…." Nuri trails off, recognizing the voice.

"Awe, it's so nice to have my reputation precede me," she smirks as she steps into view from around the tree.

Gabby cracks her knuckles as she moves closer, but stops short when a snarling growl catches her attention. When she looks up, she finds a robotic lion laying on a large branch, glaring at her with yellow eyes, its green armor blending in with the leaves.

"Damn guard cats," she snarls, before turning and stalking off, stories of Vol-Tina's capabilities already having made the rounds of the school.

"Do you object to me joining you as you read?" Shard asks, as she and Blue find Battamei with her lower half curled around herself forming a stable base as she reads a rather large book.

"It is still a free country, last time I checked," the larva girl returns, not bothering to look at Shard.

"Did I offend you? Or are you always short and sarcastic with everyone?" Shard asks as Blue lays down, and she takes a seat on the grass across from Battamei.

"I prefer to keep to myself, since the others my age annoy me. However, you are the first to ask me why," she returns, snapping her book closed, and turning her full attention to the Space Godzilla girl.

"Ah, then we have that much in common at least, for I find their constant prattle irritating as well," Shard returns with a small smirk. "If I may ask, what was it you where so intent on when I interrupted your solitude?"

"This?" she asks, holding up her book. "I was merely reading about one of the very few sub-groups of humans who haven't had a large part in destroying the environment of the planet. At least while they were allowed to live as they had been."

"Oh? The only human I have met that isn't a waste of oxygen is Darcy. Although she was quite put out when she was unable to sneak up on me," Shard says, looking thoughtful.

"And how did you manage that? She is like a ghost in her shop, appearing and disappearing at will," Battamei asks.

"It's rather difficult to sneak up on someone who can read minds. It's one of the reasons that I hold such a low opinion of humans in general. All that potential, and all most of them can think of is money, sex, and what there is to watch on the television," Shard answers, finishing in a tone of disgust.

"Don't get me started on the "idiot box". It's one of the main reasons that I feel most of humanity needs to be purged," Battamei returns.

"Well, isn't this a lovely little get together?" Gabby growls looking for trouble after Green's interruption of her plans for the other group of children.

Shard quickly scans Gabby's mind, and says aloud, "You want to threaten us with physical violence, so that we will give you whatever monetary resources we may possess." Then she turns to Blue and asks, "This falls under, "defending myself and others" in pertaining to using my powers, correct?"

The lions unmistakable nod makes Shard smile widely. At least until she looks at Gabby, when the look becomes quite malicious.

"Bring it kid. I'd like nothing better than to rough you up a little, before I take your cash," Gabby snarls, flexing her hands as electricity crackles around her fingers.

"You really are not very bright, are you?" Battamei asks with a smirk as Shard begins to levitate.

"Zip it worm. I'll punt you in a minute," Gabby snarls, all her attention on Shard as she hovers around.

"This won't take very long," Battamei tells Blue, who promptly turns to watch Shard.

"I find it strange that someone who has been defeated in such a humiliating manner in the past, is so eager to antagonize someone who is capable of creating the exact same result," Shard says with a smirk as she continues to float around Gabby, who constantly turns to keep the other girl in view.

"Really? So far the only thing I see that you have in common with Crystal is overall body design, your smart mouth, and your ability to float around like a piñata," Gabby shoots back.

"Your bluster is a poor cover for your fear," Shard grins, as she suddenly snatches Gabby from the ground, and brings her up to float face to face with her.

"Let me go, you rotten little brat!" Gabby nearly screams as she struggles to be free of Shards invisible grip.

"Why? So you can…what is the phrase? Beat us up?" Shard returns, before blowing a handful of glittering dust in her face.

Blue growls in warning, while Gabby coughs on the dust.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of doing lasting harm to her. Temporary humiliation and extreme discomfort on the other hand, those I fully intend to inflict," Shard answers the lion.

And with that, Gabby finds herself in the center of a crystal prison, only her face left open to the air.

"Feel free to try and use your powers to free yourself. I can always use the energy," Shard sneers at her.

"You may have over played your hand, but I think your sense of style is excellent," Battamei grins, as she watches Gabriele attempt to free herself from her crystal cocoon.

"Let….me….GO!" Gabby snarls a she continues to struggle.

Blue snarls at Shard, clearly passing an order to do so.

"Very well, but if she doesn't leave us be, I reserve the right to get violent with her," Shard returns, landing next to Battamei, and snapping her fingers. Instantly the crystal transforms itself into dust, freeing the bully.

"I oughta," Gabby growls as she gets back to her feet.

"I think not," Battamei interrupts, prism beams firing from her eyes, and tearing up the ground at Gabby's feet.

A warning snarl from Blue ends the meeting, as Gabby snarls in frustration, and leaves.

"I see you didn't need my protection after all. My apologies, if you had wanted to deal with her yourself," Shard tells Battamei.

"I'm actually flattered that you cared enough to defend me," the Battra girl answers, slipping her book into her bag. "I've never had a friend before. I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow."

"As do I," Shard answers as the worm girl moves off, to head back to class. Blue nudges her after a moment causing her to say," That was unexpected. But I think….I think I will enjoy her company. It will be nice to have a friend."

And with that, Blue leads her back to the building where the Juniors have their classes.

The rest of the week passes without incident, bringing a most anticipated event in its wake.

"Oh, man. I feel like crap," Maizy groans. "Wha?" she mutters when she is suddenly surrounded by cheering.

"Welcome back," Zoe tells her as Kaze helps her sit up.

"Maizy!" her friends squeal as they barrel in and glomp her.

"Hey guys," she smiles at them. Then her last few memories come back to the surface. "What happened? How long have I been out?" she suddenly demands, turning to her sisters.

"Easy, hotshot," Jura tells her, reaching past her friends to lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder and give a little squeeze. "You've had one long nap. But we needed to get you patched back together. Everyone is fine, and you managed to save these two, even as wrecked as you where. You did good." Jura adds, moving to stand behind Immomu and Nuri.

"How long?" she asks again, suddenly not really sure she wants to know.

"It took us three months to get your act back together," Zoe tells her.

"And don't worry about whatever project you've had going on the computer," Kaze adds. "Nuri has been over here every day, with the exception of the week after the attack, keeping things going for you."

Maizy turns back to her "crew" with a smirk. "She has, huh?"

Nuri just smirks back and nods, tears of joy in her eyes at having her friend back again.

"My systems don't feel the same as before. So what did you change?" Maizy demands, turning back to her sisters.

"There were a few problems with fixing you," Zoe admits. "So we repaired what we could, and replaced what we couldn't. Unfortunately, we had to do a lot more of the second than I'm really happy about."

"You've only got one rocket arm now," Kaze tells her, pointing at her left.

"So my right is just a regular arm?" Maizy asks, lifting her right arm up to her face for a closer look, while attempting to access whatever might be in there.

"Not hardly," Jura smirks.

"What gives? It's like I can make it move, but I can't even scan it's systems?" Maizy growls.

"That would be because I locked your new systems, so you wouldn't accidentally trigger any new weapons before we could tell you about them," Zoe informs her.

"Still don't trust me?" Maizy smirks. "Never mind. When are you going to let me start learning what I can do now?"

"Tomorrow," Kaze answers.

"We figured you'd like to get caught up with your friends today," Jura adds.

"Works for me," Maizy grins, then tries to run a systems check on her flight pack. "Awe, man…..she slagged my flight pack too?"

Jura shoots both Kaze and Zoe a look, before looking back down at Maizy.

"Hold on. I'll enable that one for you. Just watch yourself, cause it isn't anything like your old one," Zoe tells her, sending a set of signals to Maizy that unlocks her ability to access her flight pack.

Maizy lets out a low whistle as she gets her first look at the systems and capabilities of her new gear. Then she shoots Kaze a smirk, and says, "And you thought I was hard to catch before?"

"You're welcome," Jura smirks at her. "Kaze, Sumegi, and I did the design work for you on that."

Maizy is about to thank her, when her look suddenly darkens and she growls, "You let the anime freak design some of my new parts?"

"Careful squirt," Kaze growls back at her. "She made a suggestion, and showed us something, and we thought it was a good enough idea to check into."

"But…But…she's an anime _freak_!" Maizy blurts out. "You _like_ anime Kaze, but I swear they used that stuff to _program _her!"

"Maizy, trust me. Once you get the hang of it, you'll like it better than your old one," Zoe tells her. "And you _where_ all excited about it until you found out Sumegi was involved."

"….fine. Let's go girls," Maizy says to the other juniors as she hops off the table.

After the three head upstairs, Zoe, Jura, and Kaze share a look, before they all break into giggles.

"God, I didn't realize how much I missed her!" Jura laughs.

"Heh, I couldn't agree more," Kaze grins.

"It's like we've been running at half power or something," Zoe agrees. "It's nice to have the family back together."

"It's nice to be part of a family," Jura agrees.

"The place wouldn't be the same without you either," Kaze tells her, pulling her into a one armed hug.

"So what's first?" Nuri asks after they make it to the main floor.

"First, I'm going to go see what that anime freak convinced them to install in me," Maizy growls. "Then I want to see what's been happening with the site."

With no warning, she spins, and hugs both Immomu and Nuri.

"And I want to thank you two. You didn't have to stick with me while I was crashed like that," she adds.

"Yeah, like we could just abandon your projects while you where stuck being a paperweight? After you got so badly busted up trying to keep us safe? I think you need to go back down there and have them check your head again," Immomu tells her.

"Thank you, no," Maizy smirks, leading the way out to the back yard.

"You ready?" Nuri asks her, as Maizy takes a couple steps beyond them.

"Now or never," Maizy mutters, as she activates her flight pack.

"Maizy….They made you an angel," Immomu gasps, awed at the two seemingly feathered wings that erupted from her back when she brought her flight pack online.

"Not quite," Maizy tells her, staring at her shadow as she flexes her new flight equipment. "But I think I'm going to have to owe Sumegi an apology if this works the way it's supposed to."

"Well, quit screwing around, and try it out!" Nuri orders her with a grin.

"Don't mind if I do," Maizy grins back over her shoulder, raising her new wings to their fullest extension.

With a massive downward thrust, Maizy leaps into the sky.

"_Damn. Zoe was right, I _am_ going to need to practice with this new gear,"_ Maizy thinks as she takes in just how quickly she had ascended with what she thought was minimum power. _"Let's see what else these things can do,"_ she grins as she suddenly curls the wings around her body, dropping like a stone. Her friends yell at her to pull up long before she actually does, barely skimming the ground as she climbs back into the sky. Maizy then starts weaving between every tree and statue in the yard, pulling moves that she had never been able to with her old flight gear.

"This is _awesome!_" she enthuses as she lands back by Immomu and Nuri.

"How can you keep those big wings inside of you like that?" Immomu asks as the wings retract back within her.

"That is one of those things that you just don't worry about," Nuri tells her.

"She's right. If you think about it too much you get a headache," Maizy agrees. "Now that I've had my test drive, let's go see what you've been doing with my web site."

"Oh, we need to tell you all about our new school to!" Immomu adds.

"Yeah. We've got a robot teacher with five robotic lions for pets, and nearly a dozen other Juniors in the class. You'll like it I think," Nuri adds.

"So they finally got around to giving the kids a teacher and classes of their own huh? 'Bout damn time," Maizy grins as she leads the way back up to her room.

Alright folks, this is the end of "Tales"

"Heavy Metal" is next…


	4. Chapter 4

_**HEAVY METAL**_

"Move it you twits! The boss lady is going to have our asses if this test doesn't come off according to plan," the team leader growls at the three hackers who are currently downloading programs into the main computer system of the power substation.

"Sam, you know that this takes time," the nearest one shoots back.

"You'll address me as Lt. Riggs when we are on mission," he fires back, just a quickly. "And I don't particularly look forward to telling Red Geisha that the mission failed because we screwed up. Now get on with it."

"Virus download…..Complete! We need to get lost, cause after about ten minutes, that virus is going to kick in, and if it works according to plan, this place is going to get nuked from the inside," one of the others adds, unplugging his laptop and standing up.

"Let's roll. I want us at a safe distance, so we can pass on the info about how well this works," Riggs says, leading the way

"It's time! It's taken me months, but all three of them are done. Now I just need to bring them online, and I'll have my own friends, and maybe even my own team!" Sumegi nearly squeals in excitement as she rushes from one inert form to another, checking connections, and making last second adjustments on her greatest achievement.

K-Girl versions of the super robots, Gaiking, Raiking, and Vulking.

"Katsura would have a stroke, if she was capable of it," the copper haired mecha girl smirks as she prepares to enter the commands that will bring the three inert bodies to life.

"_The technology level on this island is astounding. The main islands of this chain are impressive, but only a bit beyond what the rest of the planet boasts. _This place_ on the other hand, some of these reading are close enough to Cybertronians that they could pass as weak Spark signatures, if not for the fact that I know that there is only one other spark on this planet,"_ Phoenix thinks to her self, as she rests in a tree, mainly unnoticed in her current alternate form of a golden eagle.

"_Pyre has to be around here someplace. If I was going to make this world my home, it would be here, where things are closer to home than anywhere else. Strange that the local news distributors don't have any reports of his actions. A few older reports of some kind of attack involving a giant robot and a monster at the harbor some time ago. Hmmm…the technology from the robot may have come from him, so that is probably my best lead for now."_

With that final thought, she spreads her wings, and launches herself skyward. She circles a school campus for several turns, simply enjoying riding the thermals, before she turns toward the harbor to see what else she can find.

The explosion of a nearby substation brings her up short, and causes her to stick around a bit longer, as she investigates what may have been behind it.

"Three…..Two…One…..NOW!" one of the hackers counts down, before looking around confused when nothing happens.

"Relax Shiro, the program is running," one of the others tells him. "it's going to take a few minutes for the station to build up enough of a charge for the effect we're looking…..for." he trails off before finishing in a small voice, as the substation erupts in a massive fireball as the transformers overload and explode in rapid succession.

"Nicely done. Time for you three to get out of town, and off the island," Riggs tells his team. "I've got a few more things to do before I'm done."

"Will do. Good luck on your recruitment drive," the last member of the team tells him, clapping him on the shoulder, before the hacker team scatters, leaving him alone to observe the effects of their actions.

Once he is sure that they are gone, and that the last man didn't "bug" him, he mutters, "Yeah, too bad I'm only going through the motions. It's going to be a pleasure to see the lot of you rats go down."

Then a second explosion erupts from the nearby school campus, followed by several energy blasts shooting out from a single point, before spreading to three separate points of chaos.

"And…..NOW!" Sumegi grins, as she hits the final button that will download the final activation programs into the three.

Just then, the power flickers and dies, accompanied by a hollow "boom" and a slight shudder that can be felt through the ground.

"Ah, man! Why now? And what was that explosion?" she complains as she puts down her laptop, and moves away from her project, positive that it failed due to the power loss.

She turns in surprise at the sounds of movement behind her, and is slammed through the wall by an energy blast.

The only warning she is able to offer anyone is her emergency beacon as she is knocked offline.

"Looks like the virus transmitted itself to the closest high tech focal point it could detect, before the station blew," Sam thinks out loud as he watches. "Looks like someone was playing around with some advanced robotics at DK high."

With a sigh, he turns away thinking, "_I need to get a message to John. He's got the contacts to get the warning out, and keep it low key enough that Red won't know that her plans have been given away. I just wish I'd been able to get her timetable. Her troops are ready, and finishing touches are under way on the Titans. It's going to be within the next couple of months at the latest."_

Then he climbs into his waiting vehicle and goes to make his report to the Red Bamboo Army about the "rousing success" of the first leg of his missions here on Neo Monster Island.

Almost a mile away, one of Sumegi's two sisters suddenly jerks her head up from the advanced infantry tactics handbook she had been reading, and is moving toward the door to the trio's apartment before she begins to speak aloud to her com system.

"Red alert! Sumegi has been knocked off line! Possible rouge K-girl! More info as it is acquired!" she says, as she runs down the hall toward the fire escape. Halfway, the power flickers and dies, causing her to add, "Power failure in local grid. Likely related to current situation."

"Understood, Katsura. We will continue to monitor, and pass along anything we can discover that may help. Kiryuu is aware, and is bringing backup with her. Shall we call reserves?" the voice of the current "crisis operator" answers her through her com.

"Leave the option open," she responds, clambering onto the iron emergency stair, before leaping off and igniting her flight jets, and soaring toward the location of Sumegi's beacon.

"Everyone ready?" Kiryuu demands, as the occupants of the Nagai Mansion assemble in the back yard.

"You need to ask? C'mon, let's go save her already," Maizy smirks, eager for the first chance she's really had to "acid test" her upgraded weapons, outside of Zoe's carefully monitored training sessions. The little redheaded Mazinger in practically bouncing with the urge to deploy her wings and take off.

"Relax Kiry. No point in getting all worked up _before_ you find out just how bad things really are," a taller, silver haired Mazinger answers, hugging the purple haired mecha dragon from behind.

"She's right. Save the angst for once we find out why everything's going to pot at once," another voice chimes in. Nearly invisible in the darkness caused by the power failure, her dark pants and jacket just as lost in the gloom as her nearly black skin. Only her glowing golden eyes mark her location.

"Oh, stop playing "ghost in the darkness" Jura. Just because you blend into the night better than us silver skins do, doesn't mean you have to play like that," the tallest of the group shoots back, smirking at her girlfriend, as the glow from the marks on her face and her yellow optics bathe her in light, bringing her neon blue hair into sight.

"Thanks, Kaze," Kiryuu returns. "Now, is everyone ready?"

Three sets of flight wings deploying is her answer.

"Let's fly," Zoe grins, as the Mazingers take off, Kaze picking Jura up before hand, and Zoe looping back to grab Kiryuu's upraised hands, and take her along as well, the entire group flying toward the school, with Kiryuu directing them toward Sumegi's beacon.

"What the hell?" is the general thought going through the minds of most of the inhabitants of DKH, when the power goes out, followed by the explosion signaling Sumegi's undignified ejection from her little lab.

As several girls empty from the dorms to check on what had happened, they are greeted with the sight of three imposing warriors emerging from within the building.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" the purple armored girl known as Dizzy, snarls as the three finally step free of the building.

The only response she gets is three glowing stares, and a pair of eyebeams that knock her off her feet.

"Take them down!" the Godzilla-morph known as Gina orders, unleashing a radiation blast at the trio.

The three scatter, the one with the two great horns growing from her head unleashing another set of eyebeams at Gina, while her companions open fire at the other k-girls.

"Anyone have any clue where these three came from?" a green and gold girl with a silver spiky mohawk demands, before unleashing a laser beam from behind her red sunglasses.

"Who cares? They want to blow up the school, so I say we take them apart and let Milenna worry about the other stuff," a dark blue girl with white spikes on her back and face returns, ducking as a nearby explosion throws shrapnel into the air.

"Where is my sister?" Katsura snarls as she drops into the middle of the clutch of K-girls.

"Ask the demolition triplets. We haven't seen her," a beetle girl with yellow glasses shoots back, before diving to the ground as another energy blast, this one looking like blue lightning, passes over their heads near enough to singe hair.

A protective wall of yellowish crystal grows up between the girls and the rampaging mechs, accompanied by a voice saying, "How the mighty have fallen. Cut the power and blow up a chunk of the school and you fall to pieces? Rather disappointing."

"Zip it Crystal," Gina snarls at her sister as she levitates herself down behind the protective crystals.

The blue skinned redhead smirks at her younger sister as she glares back.

"Save the family feud for later," Katsura snarls at them, quickly taking charge of the girls she has spent most of her life plotting ways to destroy.

"What gives you the right to order us around, you mecha-bitch?" the dark blue one demands with a snarl.

"Anji, I know you hate me, but right now, I'm the best hope you have to survive this," Katsura shoots back.

Before any of the others can argue with her, there is a monstrous crash as the trio of intruders smash their way through the outer wall of the school.

"Find Sumegi for me, I'm going after them," Katsura orders, before launching in pursuit.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Maizy demands when they see flashes from explosions as they close on the school.

"Kiryuu! Sumegi is at the school, and I have the girls looking for her. The ones behind this escaped the grounds, and are now raising Cain in town. Intercept, and neutralize. I was told you had backup, so I'm assuming that the Mazingers are with you. I'll join you as soon as I arrive," Katsura tells her over a com channel.

Kiryuu quickly relays Katsura's instructions to Zoe, who passes them along to the others.

"Fine by me. I've wanted a chance to bust some heads ever since you brought me back online," Maizy grins, her bright red wings shimmering as she banks toward the ground.

"I miss her angel wings," Jura mutters as everyone else follows in her wake.

"I found her!" Anji calls out when she stumbles across Sumegi's limp form.

"Jeez, they hit her harder than they did Dizzy," a blue armored mecha girl with red hair mutters when she steps into the room behind Anji. "They damn near blew her _through_ the science wing."

"Well, let's get her out of here, and see if she will come around," Anji mutters, annoyed at having to help one of the Mecha-G sisters.

"You really need to let go of that grudge you're holding against Katsura. At least enough to not blame her sisters for what she's done to you," the other girl tells her as she lifts Sumegi from her landing place, and turns to leave the room.

"Butt out, Lara," Anji snarls, leaving her alone.

As yet another car detonates under the caress of energy weapons, Kiryuu, Jura and the Mazingers drop into the war zone.

"Ladies, I suggest you knock this shit off, before we have to knock you out," Maizy smirks as she lands atop a car that hasn't been blown to scrap yet.

"Gaia? Is that you?" Zoe asks in wonder as she gets her first good look at one of the girls, with a pair of golden, Viking like horns growing from the sides of her head.

"Gaikina!" the girl roars in answer, as a flame blast erupts from her skull like chest plate.

"_MOVE!"_ Jura screams, tackling Maizy from atop the car, as the others dive for cover.

"Obviously not a friend of hers," Maizy grunts as Jura climbs off her.

"Ya think?" Jura smirks, as the others return fire.

"Kaze! Keep the red one busy! Maizy! The blue one is yours! Jura! Back them up as you're able!" Zoe calls out her orders.

"What about us?" Kiryuu demands, looking into her lovers face.

"We take "Gaikina" of course," Zoe grins. "Now let's _do this!"_ she snarls as she leaps up and unleashes her photon beams at her chosen target, while Kiryuu pops up from cover and cuts loose with her maser cannons.

"Why do I always get the hard cases?" Kaze mutters as she rushes her assigned dance partner.

Standing in the center of the street, her opponent blazes away at her with small energy blasters concealed in her fingers.

"You've got the firepower," Kaze snarls at her, making note of the rather large shoulder cannons, "but can you take a hit?" she demands as she delivers a rushing roundhouse punch to her faceplate.

The blow sends her skidding back several meters, her feet ripping up the pavement. Once her momentum is spent, she shakes her head, and reaches up to her faceplate, tugging it back into place.

"Ah, crap," Kaze mutters.

"Hydroroot Cannons!" she calls as her shoulder cannons drop from their normal position to aim at Kaze. A river of crimson energy blasts the largest of the Mazingers off her feet, and through several buildings.

"Despair Sight!" Maizy's opponent calls, unleashing energy blasts from not only her eyes, but her fingertips as well.

"Damn, hey, watch it!" Maizy yells at her, pulling moves that would make a master of "dance, dance, revolution" drop their jaw in shock. She manages to come through without taking a direct hit, but there are soot streaked tracks crisscrossing her form from near misses.

"Electric Death Storm!" she calls out as the turbine fans in her forearms begin to spin. Luckily for Maizy, the girl is blown off her feet by the detonation of a missile barrage.

"Who would have thought that I'd end up saving you?" Katsura smirks at Maizy as she lands, and turns all her weapons to prepare for whatever their opponent has up her sleeve next.

"Puncher Grind!" Gaikina shouts as her left forearm shoots off toward Kiryuu.

"Atomic Punch!" Zoe counters, intercepting one rocket punch with another.

Kiryuu, uses the moment of shocked disbelief to activate her vernier thrusters, and dash in close to deliver a high speed shoulder slam to Gaikina, knocking her off her feet, and over the side of a nearby car.

"Thunder Break!" Zoe yells, as she calls the lightning down on Gaikina's position.

"Volt Paralyzer!" Gaikina returns, attempting to counter Zoe's lighting with her own.

This one doesn't work out so well for the golden warrior, as she is once more blasted off her feet.

Jura can only watch in shock as Kaze is blasted out of her sight. Then she turns toward the crimson armored mech girl, and snarls, "You. Hurt. Kaze!"

The only warning the girl gets about what is about to hit her is the brief flash of blue, before Jura's radiation blast knocks her away like her cannons did to Kaze.

"You got any surprises that we can use?" Katsura asks Maizy as the two split up, and begin circling their opponent from opposite sides, keeping her in the center.

"You know me," Maizy grins back, with a evil look in her optics. "I'm _full_ of surprises."

"Despair Sight!" the girl calls once more, unleashing her energy blasts at the both of them. She is less than pleased to see her blasts deflected by Katsura's energy shield.

"Photon Beams!" Maizy calls as she counter fires, the beams energies creating a small explosion when they meet. The smallest of the Mazingers rushes through the smoke, ax blades popping out on her left arm. "Iron Cutter!" she snarls as her arm launches, the blades barely missing as her opponent ducks to the side.

Right into the firestorm unleashed by Katsura.

"That's going to leave a mark," Maizy smirks, as her arm returns to its proper location.

"Ow. Anyone get the I.D. on the freight train that just hit me?" Kaze mutters, as she extracts herself from a cinderblock wall. One of the several dozen walls she has been smashed through.

"Vulkina!" her opponent screams into the night as she recovers from her own unwanted exit from the battle field.

"Oh, yeah. Payback time," Kaze snarls, her face guard snapping into place, as her wings deploy. In moments, she is back at ground zero, and standing next to Jura.

"You alright?" Jura asks, not taking her eyes off the slowly returning form of their sparring partner.

"Yeah. She packs a wallop, so keep an eye out if she drops those shoulder cannons at you," Kaze warns.

"Got it," Jura returns, as Vulkina stops, and snarls at them.

"Rapid Missiles! Corona Blaster!" she calls, unleashing a blizzard of explosive projectiles from her shoulders and upper thighs, along with a repeat of the rapid fire energy blasters in her fingers.

"Shall we?" Jura asks as they both weather the storm of firepower.

"Let's," Kaze agrees.

As one, they cut loose with their beam weapons, slamming Vulkina into the building behind her, and causing enough collateral damage to drop it on her head.

"Did we put her down?" Kaze wonders.

"I don't know, so don't turn your back on her yet," Jura retorts.

"Raikina!" the blue mecha girl snarls as she picks herself up after stumbling into Katsura's barrage.

"She is a tough one, isn't she?" Katsura remarks,

"Tougher than I really want to put up with," Maizy returns, as her right hand retracts within her forearm. A humming noise can be heard, as she charges her new weapon.

"Electro-" Raikina begins, as a electrical energy gathers in front of her.

Maizy dashes in before she can finish, and snarls, "Kiss my plasma cannon!" as she jumps up into her face, and unloads the charged blast into her faceplate.

"Ouch. Who in their right mind gave you something like that?" Katsura wonders as she watches Raikina go flying as a result of Maizy's blast.

"That's the problem with being a prototype," Maizy smirks as her hand reappears. "When you get all busted up, sometimes they have to improvise when they fix you."

"Stay down. We don't want to hurt you, but we will if you force us to," Zoe growls as movement behind the debris indicates that Gaikina is coming back for more.

"Zap her again. See if you can force her to shut down, rather than us having to destroy her," Kiryuu suggests.

"Despair-" Gaikina snarls as she stands up, only to be interrupted by Zoe.

"Thunder Break!" she calls, the lighting hitting dead on target.

Gaikina's optics flicker twice, then she falls forward onto her face.

"One down, two to go," Kiryuu smirks.

The shifting rubble is the only warning they get, before Vulkina fires her shoulder cannons again.

"I'm glad she was just clearing the crap off herself, rather than actually trying to hit us that time," Kaze says. "That blast hurts."

"So does mine," Jura growls as Vulkina stomps out of the wreckage of the building.

"Hydroroot-" she begins, only to be cut off.

"Now!" Kaze yells, unloading her Photon Beams, in conjunction with Jura's radiation blast.

Unlike the last time, Vulkina manages to withstand the attacks. At least until Kaze dashes in with her flight pack, and unloads a pair of vicious right and left hooks, before throwing her at Jura, who meets her with a spinning tail smash.

"She down?" Kaze asks.

"She's down," Jura confirms, as a handful of sparks shoot from the junction of the girls neck and shoulder.

"Despair Sight!" Raikina snarls, firing her energy beams at her opponents.

"Damnit, that last one should have done it," Maizy snarls as she dodges the fire directed her way.

"Got anything else?" Katsura asks, as she uses her shield to defend herself once more.

"Yeah, cover me for a few," Maizy shoots back, as she begins charging her cannon again, this time keeping it going much longer than the first time.

"What are you doing?" Katsura demands, as the pitch of the whine coming from Maizy's arm continues to increase.

"Despair sight!" Raikina calls again, determined to burn through Katsura's shield.

_"At this rate, she may just do it too,"_ Katsura thinks as she watches her power levels plummet every time her shield is hit.

"I'm going to give her a blast that can even knock Kaze on her ass," Maizy says matter of factly, before jumping _over_ Katsura. At the height of her leap, she unleashes the plasma bolt, and even to Katsura, it's apparent that this one is far more powerful that the first one.

Raikina doesn't get a chance to dodge, and the blast slams her into the building behind her.

She doesn't get back up.

"Thank you for your assistance," Katsura says as the group assembles, the three troublemakers still offline, and piled in the center of their meeting spot.

"With the ruckus they were causing, we would have had to get involved sooner or later anyway," Kaze smirks.

"Yes, but you didn't have to volunteer to help when Sumegi's beacon was activated.

"Speaking of whom, she has been found, and Tina and Lara are with her," Kiryuu informs one sister about the other.

"Good. Now then, shall we drag these three back to the school, and see if we can get some answers?" Katsura asks.

"Lead on," Zoe smirks, as she and Kiryuu each grab one of Gaikina's arms, and start dragging her toward the School.

Kaze and Jura each take one of the remaining girls, while Maizy follows along behind, ready to blast any of them if she even thinks they are faking.

"Let's see if that helps her any," Milenna mutters, giving Sumegi's head a rough smack after doing what she can for her.

"Oww…..What was that for?" Sumegi mutters as her optics flicker back to life.

"Works every time," Milenna smirks as she steps away from the cyber girl.

"Care to tell us what happened? And where those three new mechs came from? And how you managed to be the first one on the scene?" Mandy asks/demands, as Sumegi sits up and rubs her head.

At the mention of the "'Kina's" Sumegi whips her head around and demands," Their awake? Where are they?"

"They are currently rampaging through the town," Megan informs her, cleaning her yellow glasses. "Your sisters and the Mazingers are trying to stop them."

"Now where did they come from?" Milenna asks, her voice leaving no room for Sumegi to work around the truth.

With a deep sigh, Sumegi slumps her shoulders and admits, "I built them."

"You _what?" _all three blurt out together.

"Stay here and make sure they stay offline," Katsura orders, as she and Kiryuu turn to go find their sister, leaving the Mazingers and Jura with the Kina's.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come along. I've got some questions I'd like to ask, if she's awake," Zoe adds, as she falls into step behind the pair.

Katsura is about to protest, when she catches Kiryuu glaring at her. "Very well. You can ask your questions after I'm done asking mine," she tells Zoe.

"I don't have a problem with that," Zoe smiles at her, giving Kiryuu a wink after Katsura starts off again.

"Where did you get the information and parts to be able to build three super robot based K-girls?" Milenna demands in shock at Sumegi's admission.

"_SHE WHAT?_" Katsura bursts out, drawing everyone's attention to the three in the doorway.

"Well, that solves about half of what I wanted to know," Zoe mutters, shaking her head in disbelief.

"How did you do it, Sumegi?" Kiryuu asks, her voice much softer than Katsura's.

"I won a e-bay auction for the plans to the original robots," she tells them with no small amount of pride. "I got lucky, 'cause there were only two other bidders, and they wanted them for next to nothing. I was actually willing to pay."

"And how where you able to convert those plans into human scale girls?" Milenna asks, her scientific curiosity getting the better of her.

"By inputting them into a computer, and running them against the "Blank Maiden" program I wrote using the original base schematics. It automatically reduces the scale, and offers the option of a male of female frame design. I'm almost more proud of that program than I am of actually building the girls," she admits.

"Where did you get the parts to build the advanced weaponry?" Zoe tosses in.

"I….helped myself to a few things from the base. Everything else I either salvaged, or bought on my own," she answers.

"What did you take from the base?" Katsura demands, her shock turning to a fine, burning anger.

"Their power cores, and some of the parts for their directed energy weapons and brain cores. I didn't take any completed components, just parts that I couldn't acquire on my own," she tells her sister.

"That may help you when I inform the Doctor of this, but it won't help you now. After we take these three to the base, and let our tech team look them over and see if they can cure this madness, you are grounded for a month. No leaving the apartment unless it's for class, your turn on the duty roster or an emergency dispatch, no T.V., no Anime, no visitors, and no playing. Anything else the Doctor wants to do to you will be in addition," Katsura snarls at her, making the copper haired mecha-godzilla girl wince and seemingly shrink where she sits.

"Do you have any idea what may have caused them to go nuts like that?" Kiryuu asks, attempting to turn Katsura's anger to something constructive.

"I had just finished inputting the activation commands, and sent the initialization command when the power died. I didn't think it had gone through, so I was about to go check on the power failure, when I heard something move behind me. Before I could turn, I got hit. Hard," she answers.

"Could the power failure have caused some kind of glitch in the startup programs?" Zoe asks Milenna.

"Doubtful, since everything apparently went through before the juice died. If it hadn't I doubt we would have had this little incident in the first place," the gel like alien teacher answers.

"I may be able to shed some light on this part for you," a new voice sounds over the mech girls com systems.

"Who are you, and how did you manage to hack all of our com's?" Kiryuu demands.

"Please step outside, and I will answer your questions in person," the voice answers.

"Well?" Zoe asks the room in general.

"We go. I want answers," Katsura tells them all, leading the way out.

"Where are you?" Katsura demands as the group leaves the building where they had been interrogating Sumegi.

"Keeping watch over the downed mechanicals, and the three who are guarding them," the voice answers.

"This way," Zoe says, as she leads the group toward where Kaze, Jura and Maizy keep watch on the Kina's.

"So what's going on?" Maizy demands when they see the group round the corner of the building.

"I don't see anyone new," Milenna remarks.

"What did you do to them?" Sumegi asks in shocked awe.

"What we needed to, in order to stop them," Jura answers her.

"How many, and who took out who?" Sumegi asks, kneeling near her girls, and examining their damage as best she can without reactivating them.

"I took out the blue one, while Katsura covered me, Jura and Kaze punched the red one's ticket, and Zoe and Kiryuu showed the one with the horns who has the stronger lightning," Maizy smirks.

"She stood up to the both of them?" Sumegi asks, wide eyed in shock that Vulkina stood against two of the most powerful K-girls.

"Those shoulder cannons of hers pack a hell of a hit," Kaze admits with a wince.

"They should. She puts most of her power output behind a blast when she cuts loose with them," Sumegi tells her absently.

"We're here, now where are you?" Katsura demands aloud, searching everyplace she can see with her visual sensors.

"Is she losin' it?" Maizy asks under her breath to Kiryuu.

"Right here," the voice answers aloud, drawing everyone's attention to a nearby tree, and the large bird staring at the group.

"A golden eagle? Those are not native to this part of the world," Milenna says when she gets a good look at the bird.

"I'm hardly native to your world at all," the bird responds, before launching herself from her branch, and gliding the short distance to the group. "And you may call me Phoenix," she adds, just before her form suddenly expands, and shifts, components and body parts visibly moving, shrinking, and reconfiguring, until she lands before the group. As she rises to her full height (about 5'8"), she has the appearance of one of the mecha girls, with crimson armor styled after a bird of prey, and white hair, blue eyes, and golden toned skin.

"She transformed!" Jura blurts out, no less surprised than the rest.

"Yes, my people tend to do that," she smiles over her shoulder at the Godzilla morph. "As I said, you may call me Phoenix."

"You said you had information on what happened to cause this rampage?" Katsura cuts in, clearly not happy that no one had suspected that they were under observation by some new mechanical life form who seems able to disguise herself as a bird, and possibly other life forms.

"Yes," she answers. "I was about to leave, to continue my search for Pyre, when the substation exploded. Before that, I witnessed a group of four rapidly leaving, and shortly before the explosion, I detected a short data burst from the station. I believe that some kind of invasive program was set into action at the station, and when its work was done, transmitted itself to a new, nearby location capable of receiving it, to continue its work."

"You mean like some kind of "smart" computer virus?" Kaze asks, scratching the back of her head through her helm.

"That explains their rampage then," Sumegi says grimly as she straightens up. When the others turn to her, she explains, "As part of what I was doing to activate them, I had all their communications systems set to receive, so that I could be sure that even if there was a bad connection with my computer cables, the wireless would still work."

"But since they weren't online yet, they didn't have any form of active anti-viral programs running," Milenna agrees.

"So their personalities?" Zoe asks.

"Haven't been activated as yet. Somehow the virus managed to mobilize them, and access their weapons, but their "minds" are still waiting for the activation program to start them up," Sumegi answers.

"If this virus is as nasty as it seems, it's going to take a while to develop a counter program," Milenna mutters.

"If you would allow, I could try to destroy it for you," Phoenix offers. "My systems are far more advanced than what this virus is designed to work on, so it should be a simple matter for me to remove it from them."

"I'm going to need my laptop," Sumegi says, looking around.

Before she can move, Katsura demands, "Why?"

"Because if I can activate them properly, then the virus won't be able to hit them again, because their protections will be up and running," Sumegi answers. "You don't really want to have to fight them again, do you?"

"She's got a point," Zoe offers with a shrug, indicating that she's leaving it up to Katsura to make the call.

With an audible growl, Katsura turns to Kiryuu and orders, "Go with her. Take a quick visual inventory of what she's got down there while you're at it."

A quick salute is Kiryuu's answer, as she and Sumegi rush toward the remains of her basement lab.

"You said you where searching for someone named Pyre?" Mandy asks, while they wait for their return.

"Yes. He's a fugitive from my home world," Phoenix answers with a touch of bitterness.

"How many of you did they send?" Zoe asks.

"Your looking at the entirety of the retrieval team," Phoenix growls.

"How bad is the one your hunting?" Maizy asks, picking up on the resentment Phoenix feels at her assignment.

"He's the dark side of the experiment that birthed us both," she answers. "Somehow his form was brought online, and he went on a rampage, before stealing a ship, and making the jump that landed him here."

"What do you mean, "Somehow"?" Mandy asks.

"Our shells where created using newly developed versions of our mimicking abilities. But our Sparks, our life forces, had yet to be implanted within us. No one understands how he came to come online by himself, but he did, and carved a path of destruction from the lab where we were "built" to the star-port, where he stole a small transwarp ship, and made the jump to escape his pursuers," she explains. "Since we have the same capabilities, it was determined that I was the best hope of retrieving him once I was implanted with my Spark."

"Got it!" Kiryuu calls out as the pair return.

"Let's just hope it still works," Mandy mutters.

"It does," Sumegi answers, showing them the glowing screen.

"Then shall I attempt to purge their programming?" Phoenix asks, several cables snaking their way from her forearm armor.

"Yes," Katsura agrees with a curt nod.

Without another word, Phoenix attaches the cables to each of the downed mecha girls, and allows her own computer/immune systems to purge the virus from them.

"That, was a truly _nasty_ program," she mutters, shaking her head violently as she stands back up. "It also was _not_ created by humans."

"Fire them up," Katsura orders her sister, before turning her attention back to Phoenix. "What do you mean, it wasn't written by a human? Some advanced mechanical then?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean," Phoenix confirms. "It isn't purely of our race, but it was clearly modeled after our basic programming functions. Pyre, has been sharing, and not with people who have any good intentions for this world."

"Lovely. I'll make sure to include that in my report on this incident," Katsura mutters. "Can I convince you to come with me, and introduce yourself to the Defense Force Command?"

"Sadly, no. I must resume my search, especially in light of this development," Phoenix answers. "But I will be in touch," she says over her shoulder, before transforming once more, and taking flight.

"That is the coolest thing I have ever seen," Maizy grins as she watches their new acquaintance fly off.

"I'd have to agree," Jura admits, still amazed at how a human sized robot can compact itself into the shape of a large bird, and remain light enough to fly.

"Here they come!" Sumegi calls, having been working with her computer while the others were talking with Phoenix.

"Everyone ready!" Katsura orders, arming all her weapons, and aiming them at the three girls hooked to Sumegi's computer.

The others also prepare themselves to fight.

"Owe…..What's been going on?" Gaikina asks, putting a hand on her helm, and sitting up.

"I feel like someone's been using my head as a batting tee," Vulkina mutters, sitting up and pulling her helm off, revealing her grey toned face, and brown hair.

"I feel like I've been stopping trains with my face," Raikina mutters with a wince, as she sits up and also strips off her helm, revealing a blue face, with a grey dividing line down the center of it, and spiky purple hair.

"You two are lucky, I feel like I've been used for a lightning rod. Without it being grounded," Gaikina answers her sisters, as she too removes her helm, revealing a white face, and spiky orange hair. To the surprise of the others, her "horns" are part of her head, much like the ones growing from her sisters foreheads.

"Gee, I wonder why that would be," Kiryuu snickers, causing Zoe to blush.

"Yeah, I can't understand why the blue one has a headache either," Katsura smirks at Maizy, who grins back.

"Same here," Kaze smiles, as she looks at Vulkina without her helm on.

"Let's get them on their feet, and into my lab," Milenna orders. "Once we've made sure they're still clean, Katsura and the others can take them to the SDF base."

"Agreed. Sumegi can answer for her actions at the same time," Katsura agrees.

"This is not going to be something she's going to let go anytime soon, is it?" Sumegi mutters to her other sister.

"You stepped in it big time on this one kid," Kiryuu tells her. "I understand some of why you did it, and that the rampage wasn't because of anything you did, except build them, but the fact that you created them with that kind of power isn't something that she can just sweep under the rug. Your girls took you down _very _quickly, hurt some of the other students, blew a big freaking hole in the wall around the school, and leveled a couple of blocks worth of buildings when it's all said and done. That's not counting the collateral damage caused when we stepped in to put a stop to it. To be blunt, Katsura is the least of your problems over this. Mom is going to go ballistic. Who knows what the General will have to say."

"Thanks for cheering me up," Sumegi mutters darkly.

"It could be worse," Jura tells her, stepping over and adding her insights to their conversation. "At least no one died, and those where hurt where among the stronger k-girls, so there won't be any lasting damage."

"There is that at least," Kiryuu agrees, giving Jura a small smile.

"Do you think that some of their programming was keeping the virus from hurting others unless is saw them as a threat?" Sumegi asks.

"I don't know anything about their programming, but if you keyed them to be defenders, who only attack to protect themselves and others, it could have," Jura returns.

"Thanks. That does make me feel better," Sumegi tells her. Then they follow the others as they lead the Kina's to Milenna's lab.

"You did _WHAT_?" Dr. Tokai snarls, slamming her hands down on her desk as she stands up, glowering at Sumegi after hearing Katsura's report.

"I abused your trust, stole components, and constructed three new mecha girls, based on plans I managed to purchase from e-bay, the "blank maiden" schematics, and a conversion program I wrote to convert them all," Sumegi admits, eyes downcast as she lists her crimes. "Because of that, several k-girls where hurt, and a large part of the area around the school looks like a war zone. Only the intervention of my sisters, the Mazingers, and an alien mechanoid who was able to purge a truly vicious virus from them, enabled me to properly start up their personality programs and auto-immune systems, and bring them here for you to inspect and certify." Then she looks up, meeting her mother's angry glare with a one of her own, adding. "I _am_ sorry for abusing your trust, and the damage they have caused, but I _have_ done this, they _are_ online, and once you have checked over what I have done with them, I hope that you will agree to allowing them to be a reserve unit for us, since as it's been shown on several occasions, even we need back up."

Katsura and Kiryuu lean back and share a look behind Sumegi, before turning back to find out the doctors reaction.

"Lab. Now. You will have a _full_ programming diagnostic, _then_ we will discuss how to deal with consequences of your actions," she responds, clearly still irritated, but no longer yelling. "I trust the new ones have been shown to a repair bay, and have allowed themselves to be examined?" she directs to Katsura.

"Yes. They incurred some damage during the battle to end their rampage, and I didn't want Milenna to do any more than ensure that the virus was purged from their systems, so they were actually a bit eager to comply," she answers.

"How much force was required to stop them?" The doctor asks as they file out of her office, Kiryuu and Sumegi in the lead, as she walks alongside Katsura.

"Quite a bit actually," Katsura returns. "Gaikina was taken down by the combination of Mazinger Zoe, and Kiryuu. I assisted the prototype, Maizy, in downing the one known as Raikina. The one known as Vulkina is the one that I actually worry about if she goes rouge once more. She stood against the most powerful pair in the battle, the g-morph known as Jura, and the strongest of the Mazingers, Mazin-Kaze. Having seen what Kaze is capable of first hand, and witnessing the raw power that Jura can call upon, I am forced to respect, and possibly fear, anyone capable of going toe to toe with them and surviving, whether they were trying to keep from destroying her or not."

"Noted. Thank you for your report, despite the number of problems it's about to cause me," the doctor returns.

"You think the general will be even less happy about this than you are?" Katsura asks.

"I think my reaction was mild, compared to what will be waiting for me when I inform him," she returns.

"Ouch….." Katsura murmurs as they enter the labs area and begin testing Sumegi and check on the Kina's.

"So the test of our little computer virus went well?" Pyre asks with a smirk when he answers Geisha's request for his presence.

"Quite well," she answers. "The power distribution center they had targeted, exploded quite violently. It should make for an excellent diversion, and pre-emptive weapon."

"That is all you have planned for this?" he asks, rather surprised by her lack of vision.

"For now. I have several other items in my bag of tricks, this is but one of them," she returns. "How much longer until the equipment is completed and checked out?" she demands, changing the subject.

"Ah yes, your war machines," Pyre grins. "Yours is completed, and all its systems have been given a "green light" according to your technicians. The others are ready, for the most part, with the exception of the final pair you ordered. Those are still being fitted with their outer armor and their motive systems, and weapons, still need some work. Your chief technician estimates that it will still require several weeks to complete the last two."

"Hmm… That is too bad. I had hoped to begin sooner than that," she pouts, leaning back in her chair. "Oh, well. I _did_ order the construction of those two significantly later than the rest. This delay will give agent Riggs a chance to complete his other assignments, before we act."

"I must say, it _is_ odd for me to serve someone who handles disruption to their plans so…easily," Pyre remarks.

"Well, shooting the messenger is less that effective at anything but making everyone fear to bring you the bad news you need to hear the most," Geisha retorts. "Besides, the operation is still in the preparations phases. I would _like_ to initiate the operation immediately, but I'm not so far gone on a power trip to think that I can start this war before all my pieces are ready to be put into play. At least not if I expect to _win_."

"Your….restraint…. is impressive. I truly look forward to seeing how this all plays out. You have my best wishes for success," Pyre returns, before turning to leave.

"That sounded a bit like a "goodbye". Are you planning to leave us, Pyre?" Geisha asks, an odd tone in her voice.

"Not at this time," he assures her. "But in the remote chance that you _are_ defeated, and this base compromised, I _will_ begin exploring new prospects of achieving my _own_ ends."

"So we are merely a means to an end for you?" Geisha growls, her eyes narrowing in anger.

"Much in the same way that I am a resource for you," Pyre returns. "As long as our paths coincide, we may be allies. But the loss of a secure base of operations would mean that I would have little choice but to abandon your cause, and find myself a new base to begin operating from. Practicality must rule, when making contingency plans, after all."

"I see your point," Geisha admits, her anger gone as quickly as it had built. "In that respect, I suppose I too should begin planning a "worst case scenario" and what will be required to continue on afterward. After all, those who only see victory in their future, while being blind to the possibility of defeat, usually guarantee the latter, due to foolish oversights."

"Precisely. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a few things I need to check up on," Pyre informs her.

"Very well. I too, suddenly seem to have much that needs to be done," she agrees.

With a curt nod, Pyre turns away from her, his red, grey, and blue form dissolving into the darkness that Red Geisha keeps in her private quarters, separated only by spotlights here and there.

"One of these days, Pyre, I will discover what you are truly up too, and why you are so eager to assist me. Pray that I don't discover treachery, or you won't survive long enough for _any_ of your schemes to help you," Geisha scowls.

"_Promises, promises, dear Commander,_" Pyre thinks with a smirk as he makes his way down the halls, having heard her comments, thanks to a bug placed in her quarters that is undetectable to any scanning systems but his own. "_Air Commander Starscream, once and future leader of the Decepticons, and all of Cybertron, will hardly be concerned by any attempts you plan to make at retribution. After all, I've supplied enough of your advanced technology to ensure that I can control all of your toys at any time I choose. Betrayal is something I am an expert in after all,_" he grins to himself, as he vanishes into his own quarters.

"You have been doing better of late, haven't you child?" Mothra asks Jura in the dream realm.

"I like to think so," Jura answers her.

"You've been displaying a greater confidence in yourself, and you're not afraid to act anymore," Gojira adds, smirking at her from his colossal throne.

"I know that you are the "King of the Monsters", but you look like a goof in your human shape up on that thing," Jura shoots back at him.

Mothra politely hides her smile behind a kimono sleeve, before composing herself and adding, "I did tell you that before."

"Everybody's a critic," He mutters, leaping off the throne, and landing near the pair.

"It has been some time since your last visit child, and we were wondering how you have been doing, personally. While we can sense some things in the real world from here, we are in the dark about most of what has been going on," Mothra tells her warmly.

"Yeah, how did the aftermath of that last big throw down play out?" Gojira asks with a grin.

"…..It took us months to repair Maizy. Everyone who was injured has recovered, and I've made peace with Crystal and Kumi." Jura tells them.

"Oh? You where having difficulties with them?" Mothra asks.

"Yeah, her attitude is a problem, most of the time," Goji nods.

"I had a run in with them shortly after I came to the island and the school. While we where rescuing the kids, we found out that they had been taken as well. Crystal and I teamed up to find Kumi. After it was all said and done, they decided to give me a gift to show their appreciation, and replace the crystal dagger that I had seemed to have lost," Jura tells them.

"Oh? How is it that they could think that they would be able to replace such an artifact?" Mothra asks.

"Can I simply create things here to show you?" Jura asks.

"Go for it kid. It _is_ your dream after all, we're just visitors," Goji returns.

"In that case," Jura smiles, as she holds out her hands, and the white wrapped scabbard appears in them. Offering it to Mothra, hilt first, Jura adds, "Crystal is able to manipulate the crystal formations that she can grow, and Kumi is able to spin the finest of silks. Crystal asked for the slight addition of some of my blood to this, and then grew the crystal into this shape.

As Mosura draws the blade free of its home with a ringing sound, the spirits of the two monsters look at the blade in shocked surprise.

"Only kids, who don't know what they are truly capable of, could have forged something as impressive as this," Goji mutters, shaking his head.

"Child, do you have any clue as to what you have done?" she asks, concern in her voice.

"I thought that my blood merely strengthened the crystal. Although there was that weird feeling that I got the first time I touched the sword. It was like I could feel it with my mind, as well as my hand," Jura answers.

"That is but the beginning of the wonders you and Crystal have created through this binding of your powers," The kimono clad woman returns, snapping the blue crystal blade back into its scabbard. She reverently returns the sword to its owner, and adds, "You should be made aware of just what you and your weapon can accomplish together."

"Like what? Kaze has been teaching me sword work, but I never dreamed that the blade by itself had any kind of power," Jura tells them.

"Kids," Goji mutters, shaking his head once again. "Let's play the answer game. I'll ask you questions, and you answer them. Starting off, what do her crystals do for her?"

"For Crystal? They absorb energy and convert it for her to feed on," Jura answers, wondering where they are going with this.

"And you child, what does the regeneration abilities of your blood do for you?" Mosura asks.

"It lets me heal just about anything, as long as I have enough radiation in my system to power it," Jura answers.

"What is the one power that Crystal is most often observed using?" Goji jumps back in.

"I guess it would be her power to fly, since she doesn't often need to use any of her more destructive powers," Jura answers.

"Which she accomplishes with her Telekinesis," Mosura nods. "She also regularly utilizes this ability to levitate other objects as well."

"Now, what powers have we listed?" Goji asks, his tone sounding more than a bit mocking.

Jura bristles slightly at the tone, but answers, "Energy absorption and conversion, regeneration, and telekinesis."

"And she still doesn't get it," he growls.

"Child, this sword is linked to you. Crystal may have created it from her own body, but the addition of your blood has broken that bond. Once she ceased the process that gave it form, the crystal was no longer hers. Additionally, it retains the original crystals power to absorb and convert energy. But now it feeds those powers directly to you whenever you hold the blade. Lastly, while you have no mental powers of your own, the blending of you and Crystal within the blade grants you the ability to control it with your mind, much as Crystal manipulates other objects with her mind," Mosura informs her, staring at the sheathed blade, still in awe of what the pair had unknowingly created.

"You forgot something," Goji tells them. "Your regeneration abilities, combined with the crystals power to absorb and convert energy, gives the sword something of its own healing power. It's pretty much been "locked" into this form now, but as long as it is able to absorb energy, even if it's just sunlight, the sword will nearly instantly repair any damage to itself, even going so far as to re-grow itself if the blade is utterly destroyed. You kids have created something unseen in this world, since the times of the ancient gods, where mortals with a patron deity had weapons blessed by their gods."

"We did _what?_" Jura blurts out in shock.

"You have forged an item that even the ancient gods would have viewed with respect. Given your personality, I suppose that the best effect of this will be that you will no longer have to concern yourself with radioactive materials, since your blade will keep your powers fully charged, without putting others at risk of damage from radiation poisoning," Mosura explains.

"Trust you to focus on the most harmless of the things it can do," Goji mutters.

"What do you mean?" Jura demands, turning on him.

"That," he says, pointing at the sheathed sword in her hands, "is, for all intents and purposes, and _indestructible blade, that you can control with nothing more than the power of your mind!_ I'm unsure of the range of your control, but it's probably for the best that you don't let your temper run rampant all the time, or else this toy of yours would be flying around swinging on its own and causing who knows how much chaos."

"Oh god….." Jura trails off, staring down at the blade in her hands, before turning to look back and forth between the two monster spirits.

"Put your mind at ease child," Mosura tells her, shooting a truly nasty glare at Goji. "You will have to focus your mind to use that power of the sword, and it's highly doubtful that you will ever sink to such a level."

"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence," Jura returns, staring at the sword once more.

Gojira looks up suddenly and says, "Sorry kid, but you've got to go. Something just came up that we need to deal with."

The last thing Jura is aware of before she is left floating in the void, is that several other people have suddenly appeared in the throne room, and nearly all of them give her a bad feeling.

"Hey, wake up sleepy head," Kaze says, tapping Jura insistently on the head, adding more force with each tap.

"Knock it off…." Jura growls, slapping her hand away.

"I have a question to ask you," Kaze returns.

"What," Jura asks through a colossal yawn.

"Why is _that _in bed with you?" the metallic woman asks, pointing at a narrow object wrapped in white silk.

"Crap!" Jura yells as she suddenly jumps out of the bed. "I called it in my dream, but I didn't think it would have done that in the real world unless I was awake!"

"One more time? With the help files enabled?" Kaze returns, scratching her head.

"Have a seat. This is going to take a while," Jura answers, taking a seat on the bed, and patting a place next to her.

"She did _what?_" the general nearly yells as Dr. Tokai gives him her report.

"That seems to be the general reaction to hearing this news," the doctor returns with a wry look, before repeating herself.

"And these new maidens are where?" the general demands.

"I suppose that _is_ the best designation for them at the moment," she returns. "But to answer your question, I ordered a complete programming diagnostic, and afterward, left instructions that they should be politely escorted to an empty barracks building, and told to await my return. Sumegi will be joining them when she is done with _her_ programming diagnostic."

"Alright, if they are safe from going on another rampage, then that should suffice for now," the general mutters, wearily rubbing the bridge of his nose. But this raises an interesting possibility. Could _you_ create another set of Maidens, using what Sumegi has done?"

"What for?" the doctor returns, in surprise.

"Given this development, and your previous accomplishments with the Mecha-K-girls, I would like you to create a group of true front line fighters, rather than the civil defense oriented. Your daughters are impressive, even more so since they've been upgraded to near Maiden performance levels. But the facts remain, they are mainly designed to contain k-girls in a civil defense capacity. I would like you to create a team of Warriors, capable of taking the fight to whoever needs to be fought," he answers.

"You still haven't answered me as to why you want me to construct a team of war machines," she fires back. "This islands military operates much like the Japanese, a Self Defense Force, rather than a true army. We lack the means to move troops off the island, and as far as I'm concerned, this is a good thing, since it keeps the power mongers from thinking about war for the fun of it!"

"And I agree with you," the general returns. "But that doesn't change the fact that we are currently sitting on top of a rather large powder keg, and we have no idea just how long the fuse really is, only that it's already been lit."

"Your referring to that giant robot attack that the girls banded together to put a stop too," she responds.

"It was a bit more than that. I'm not sure just how much was spoken of in front of your daughters, but it's possible that with Katsura's previous disposition, that she was left out of some of the detail discussions. According to the staff at the school, that attack began with the kidnapping of several of the children, the juniors, as they refer to them," he tells her. "The attack was staged by a terrorist group known as the Red Bamboo Army."

"Cyber Dolls are a bit much for dealing with terrorists, general," she answers.

"But not for dealing with other Cyber Dolls," he returns. "The information I was given indicates that the RBA is no longer being lead by humans. The Red Geisha was one of the Shogun Maidens. After the team was de-commissioned, she was stripped of her weapons, and forcibly deactivated, then shipped home in a box. Unfortunately, while the team was off world fighting for us, the company that assembled her was run out of business by its competitors. After being left unclaimed in a warehouse for months, something caused her to be reactivated. We can't truly confirm the next set of details, but it's believed that she was reduced to being a streetwalker to support herself. It was during this timeframe that she came into contact with the previous general of the RBA. We believe she was taken in by him as some sort of concubine, but she later killed him, and took over. According to the reports, she has at least two more Cyber Dolls that she has had constructed, as well as at least two K-girls that no one has any records of. Or their base monsters for that matter. In addition we had planned to reactivate the other Maidens, to deal with this threat, but when we went to find them, none of them could be found. The only conclusion we can come to, is that Geisha has collected them, and is in the process of reprogramming them. I'm sure you can understand the implications of that."

"My god…" she whispers. "The strongest fighting force that this world has ever produced in the hands of an unstable A.I. that wants to rule the world….It reads like bad science fiction."

"So do most of your accomplishments, Doctor," the general returns with a wry look.

"Touché, General," she answers. "Do you have a set of plans for me to work from? It makes it easier to convert and upgrade, rather than simply create from scratch."

"I thought you might feel that way," he smiles as he slides a disk across the desk to her. "The original machine is here, and is being restored to full functionality, along with several others. If you're successful, I hope to bring in Zoe and her sisters to assist us."

"General, have I, or my team, ever let this command down before?" she asks with a smirk.

"Not yet doctor, and I'm hoping you can keep the streak going," he answers.

"So, it's finally time to start teaching them all that stuff, is it?" Milenna asks.

"You've had the place built for the last year. You can't say that you haven't been planning to expand things into teaching them fine control of their powers," Mandy returns.

"True. It's also the reason why I made sure to construct the damn "arena" this far underground," Milenna answers, as they look out the window overlooking the vast football field sized area.

"Just in case things get out of hand?" Mandy smirks.

"When don't they?" Milenna returns with a matching smirk.

"True," the dragon woman agrees. "Well, I guess it's time to call an assembly of the K's, and any humans with special powers, and inform them of the latest addition to the curriculum."

"While you're doing that, I need to go check in with the military," the Jell-O colored woman returns. "If my calculations are correct, the ship we designed for them should be about complete. At least, if they didn't miss program the constructors I provided them."

"I'll arrange it for later this afternoon then," Mandy tells her. "It will be for the best if you're here to help explain things."

"Very well," the alien scientist sighs. "Now then, let's get back to the surface."

As the pair walk down a hall, and stop atop a circular feature in the floor, Mandy asks, "Why did you design this thing like this? It seems….needlessly complicated."

"Because I like the television show I based the design on. It's one of the few that shows how things could have gone in this words history. Science Fiction is still enjoyable to me, even if most of it is primitive by my standards. This show keeps it both interesting and entertaining. Even if their ideas about wormholes are completely unfounded fantasy."

With that, Milenna touches a spot on a bracelet she is wearing, causing the floor to open around the circular area. Several rings pop up, containing the pair within, before a bright light engulfs them, and seems to shoot upward, as the rings fall back to their storage space, and the floor reseals over it.

Less than a second later, the same thing happens in one of the basement rooms under the main administrative building, only in reverse, leaving the pair to ascend the rest of the way back to ground level on their own.

"That is weird, but a hell of a lot faster than an elevator," Mandy remarks as they climb the stairs.

"I have a faster method of transport that I use to get to my ship, but I think this will be best for the students to use, since it is a bit more durable," Milenna returns.

"Always a plus, when dealing with Kaiju-morphs," Mandy grins.

"Quite," Milenna agrees, as the pair step out onto the ground floor of the building.

"Professor," General Takahara greets Milenna as her escort salutes before leaving.

"General. Your message said that the nest was almost complete?" Milenna returns.

"Indeed. I'd also like your opinion on a few other matters, while you are here," he tells her, gesturing for her to follow him.

Once they descend into the hidden hanger, Milenna can't help but stare.

"I wonder what the residents would have to say if they knew that most of this mountain is hollow," she wonders out loud.

"If we have to launch this thing before we finish the doors, you'll get to see their reaction when we drill a hole in the side of it," the general returns with a wry look.

"I designed the damn thing, and even I have trouble believing how big it is. Mandy is going to love how it came out though. She won't admit it, but she's a fan of that big drill. No idea why though," she adds as the elevator finally reaches the bottom of the huge cavern.

"It wouldn't have been possible in this short a space of time without those "constructors" you loaned us. The technology that you take for granted is still astounding to most of us, Professor," the general returns.

"How do you think we put the campus back together so quickly when the girls lose their tempers?" Milenna shoots back. "The school has been making extensive use of most of the things I "take for granted" for quite some time."

"Point taken, Professor. So what do you want to see first? None of this would have been possible without your assistance," he asks.

"The big boys. Since I don't see them down here, I'm assuming they have already been loaded into the internal hanger decks," she answers.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" he asks, shaking his head as he leads the way toward the lowered ramp leading into the lowest levels of the mammoth vessel.

"Most impressive General. Is the reactor online, or are you using the bases power to run things in here," Milenna asks as they move through the ships corridors toward the main hanger.

"It's online. Most of my engineers are still scratching their heads over how it works, but it's up and running," he answers.

"If they don't understand it, then how did they get it running?" she asks.

"I said most. I happen to have an expert on Photonic Energy here. He was able to guide them through the basics of that discipline, and understood enough about the Getter Radiation to help us manage that part as well. If the Japanese government hadn't shut down his lab, odds are quite good that the world would already have ushered in a new era of a much cleaner and possibly inexpensive energy. One of the more short sighted things they have done," he explains.

"Only two men have ever been qualified to be called "experts" in Photonic Energies. And one of them has been missing for years before the Photon Power Laboratory was shut down. So that means that your expert is.." Milenna says as they step into the hanger bay.

"Professor Gennosuke Yumi. A pleasure to meet you, madam," an elderly man in a powered wheelchair greets her as they enter.

"There. Now that that is off, I suppose that I should return to my mission and try to convert those two k-girls to Geisha's side," Sam Riggs mutters, as she shuts down the library computer, after wiping out all evidence of his recent activities.

Quickly leaving, he makes his way across town, stopping to buy a stick of blooming red bamboo, and placing a note on a string tied to it. Finally, he delivers it to the campus, and instructs the Dorm Mother on which K-girl it is for.

_"See you soon, feather head,"_ he thinks as he leaves the school grounds, driving back to the low rent motel he is using as a base of operations while in town, while he awaits the appointed meeting time on the note he had left.

"Are you going to be the guide on this leg of the tour?" Milenna asks, as the professor's wheelchair spins around and leads them deeper into the storage/repair hanger.

"Yes. Which of our old friends would you like to visit first?" he returns, a smile evident in his voice as the pair fall into step behind him.

"The Mazingers. I understand that you've reconstructed Z, and reconditioned Great as well," Milenna answers.

"Oh, we also have a third one that I think you will find as impressive as we all did, back when it was discovered. I just wish Kouji where still here to help us with them," he answers, a wistful tone in his voice at the last.

"I'm only passingly familiar with the history of the robots themselves, and their connection to your old lab. I'm afraid I don't know any of the _people_, beyond you and Professor Kabuto, who were involved with them. Who is this Kouji?" Milenna asks.

"Kouji Kabuto, was the grandson of the man responsible for creating the Mazinger Robots. He was also the pilot of Mazinger Z," Professor Yumi answers her. "He was also…my son in law."

"The way you say all that…If it's not too difficult for you, may I ask what happened?" Milenna asks, concerned for the old man.

"The group…they were more like family than just friends…Kouji and my daughter, Sayaka, Tetsuya and Jun, Boss and Kouji's brother, Shiro…where all going on a holiday to a tropical island, to celebrate the final victory over their opponents. We where tuning up their machines, so they had to take a commercial flight, which the Laboratory was paying for. They never arrived. Shortly after takeoff, a mechanical failure resulted in one of the engines exploding. I'm sure you can imagine what something like that occurring while attached to fully loaded fuel tank did to the rest of the plane…. The lot of them never knew what hit them, or so I pray whenever I think of them. But at times like this, when there is a threat that needs their kind of skills to deal with, I regret sending them on that trip all the more…." he slowly answers, survivors guilt apparent in his every word, even after all this time.

"I'm so sorry for asking you to dredge up those memories," Milenna whispers, gently squeezing his shoulders in sympathy.

"It's not your fault, any more than it's mine," he assures her, as he pats one of her hands. "But it doesn't lessen their loss. And right now, the biggest problem we face in regards to these, is the lack of anyone with the proper skills to pilot, or even train someone else to pilot them," he finishes as they enter the area of the hanger reserved for the Mazingers.

"Kaze…." Milenna whispers as she gets her first look at the machine that towers over both Mazinger Z, and Great Mazinger.

"Not quite, but close, Miss Milenna. That mechanical monstrosity, is the MazinKaiser. Juzo built it for Kouji, in the event that Mazinger Z was ever destroyed beyond repair. He never got to see the final legacy his grandfather left for him. We found it about a month after the crash," Professor Yumi tells her.

"So this one never saw any action? It's a complete unknown?" Milenna asks, her mind working faster than a super computer as she quickly comes up with several ideas to solve the piloting issue.

"No. We had just begun to discover its power when the government shut us down. I remember how one of our youngest researchers was so adamant that we continue to research them. And he wasn't even on the Mazinger support staff! He was one of the team responsible for working on my daughters' robot. Dr. Nagai was a brilliant researcher, but got so easily carried away with his projects," the professor adds, shaking his head at the memories.

The name brings both Milenna and the General up short.

"Why did I never put _that_ together before?" the General mutters in shocked disbelief.

"I knew that she was based on it, but I never _dreamed_ that he'd had firsthand experience with the originals," Milenna adds.

"Hmm? What is it?" Professor Yumi asks. "Out with it. I've heard you speaking about your "shogun maidens" on several occasions, and have always wondered what Nagai had to do with them."

"I suppose it can't hurt to tell you now, since you've already got security clearance to cover secrets that old. Not to mention I feel we owe it to you for holding the line for the rest of world back then, keeping these guys up and running, despite what it cost you," the General responds with a wry smile.

"The Shogun Maidens, where a team of androids, dubbed "Cyber Dolls" based on several different "super" robots of the era," Milenna says.

"And they were all based on a design created by Professor Nagai," the General adds.

"And his personal entry to the team, and the one subsequently chosen to lead the team, was one Mazinger Zoe," Milenna finishes.

"He _what?_" Professor Yumi nearly cries out in shock, spinning his chair around to face the pair.

"He took everything he had learned under you, and combined it with human scaled robotics to create some of the best troops I've ever had the privilege to serve with," General Takahara answers.

"It's just too bad the man was a raging pervert, and more than slightly unstable. I would have liked to have met him in person, rather than simply knowing him through his works," Milenna adds.

Shaking his head, Professor Yumi sighs and mutters, "Yes, that sounds like him alright. The "Breast Missiles" on Sayaka's and Jun's robots where designed by him. When I asked why, he answered, "Because the girls should have robots that are as shapely as they are! And having the robots breasts shoot off and blow up in the bad guys faces has some serious shock value!" The weapons where effective enough, if more than a bit odd, so I allowed him to continue. I never dreamed that he would have taken things to the levels you are describing."

"There is more," Milenna tells the older man. "He not only modeled her appearance after Great Mazinger, he duplicated nearly all of its weapons for her as well. Heat beam, eye beams, boomerang, internal flight pack, swords, rocket punches, and her knockout punch, the power to harness lightning. Zoe is just as strong as Great, but on a human scale."

"My god…" the professor trails off.

"I hate to bring us back to business, since this subject is one of my favorites when I can speak about it freely, but I need to know about the pilot training for the mech team. Do we have any that show any promise?" the General breaks in.

"We have a dozen candidates for the Mazingers, and roughly the same number for each of the others, except the Getter. _None_ of them can make those machines work in the simulations, so there is no way in hell I'm going to allow them to kill themselves with the real thing," Professor Yumi tells him. "The MK teams are capable, but none of them show any exemplary skills, either as individuals, or as teams. Of the Mazinger candidates, there are only three that have shown the slightest grasp of what it truly takes to pilot one, and personally, it's going to take years before they can develop that into something that can match Kouji and Tetsuya's abilities at the controls. And it's my personal opinion that if they make it to actually piloting the real thing, that none of them will be able to master MazinKaiser. That machine was built specifically for Kouji, and I truly doubt that anyone will be able to adapt themselves to it like he could have."

"I have a few people in mind, whom I think could solve your little piloting problem, gentlemen. With your permission, I'd like to bring them back here, and run them through the sim programs, to rate them against your current candidates. If they perform as well as I think they will, I would like your permission to move directly to a test drive, within Phoenix Base," Milenna tells them.

"Who do you have in mind? We've scoured the SDF to find our current roster of candidates," the professor tells her, while the General suddenly smiles, having figured out what she has in mind.

"I'll see to it. Let me know when you can have them here, and I'll see to their clearances personally," he tells her. "As a matter of fact, I suddenly have an idea or two about solving the piloting difficulties with the other mecha."

"What other mecha? The professor has said that the Getter Vehicles can't be flown by any of the current candidates, and I don't have any that I think could handle them either. Do you have more than just that beast in here?" Milenna asks.

"Funny you should use that term for them," Professor Yumi smiles, as he leads the way toward an elevator. "We will have to go up to the next deck, in order to move to the rear mecha hanger," he explains as they continue on. "As I'm sure you know, the hanger section is divided into three parts, two for large scale weapons, namely the super robots, and a third for more conventional vehicles. That would be the one with the loading ramp. The Mechs have a "drop hatch" in the center of their respective hangers for deployment and recovery. We decided that since the first mecha hanger was connected to the conventional hanger, we should build an armored bulkhead between it and the rear part of the hanger, just in case something catastrophic where to occur in one or the other."

"Yes, It hadn't occurred to me that anything would be able to penetrate the ships armor, as it is, but now that I'm here, the ship would be quite vulnerable to an attack through the hatches, when they are open," Milenna says, as she thinks aloud.

"Our reasoning as well, so with some slight modifications to your excellent design, we split the hanger in to three, rather than just two. As you can see, it also keeps the second half of our mecha force hidden, even deeper than the Mazinger Group out front," the General smiles as the second elevator brings them down into the rear hanger.

"Alright, you better have some _excellent_ explanations for this one," Milenna tells them both, her voice clearly annoyed. "That one was blown to scrap, and wasn't even built with any form of cockpit in it, as far as my research has shown. That one was cooked to the point where its artificial diamond armor melted, and it was then stomped like a empty beer can. That one was smashed like it was built out of Lego blocks. And this one is supposed to be resting at the bottom of the ocean."

Milenna punctuates each of her comments by pointing at the appropriate Mecha Godzilla, and the M.O.G.E.R.A.

"Come now dear lady. You didn't think that we would be able to resurrect super robots, and _not_ be able to bring these fallen hero's back as well, did you?" Professor Yumi gently chides her.

"Last time I checked, that one was built by a hostile alien race, for the purpose of conquering this world. Hardly what I would call a hero," Milenna shoots back in a dry tone.

"True, but it's still the basis for one of our current hero's so it gets lumped in. Anyway, since _we_ built it this time, it can't be remote controlled by anyone, since it requires a pilot in the cockpit," the General returns.

"Let's hope the girls take an understanding position when they find out that you've got these things in here. Most of them are still more than a bit hostile toward the MG-girls, because of their original purpose. This is going to be a hard sell," she tells them.

"Any idea what the announcement is going to be about?" Jura asks, not directing it to anyone in particular.

"If we knew, they wouldn't need to make an announcement about it, now would they?" Titanna answers from the row behind them.

"C'mon, you mean to tell me that none of the girls have a clue what's going on? Kind of unusual, isn't it?" Kaze adds from her place next to Jura.

"Yes, it is. And if you will shut up and wait like the rest of us, we'll all find out together," Crystal remarks from the row in front of them.

"How often do they actually call the entire school out like this for an announcement?" Sera asks, the black armored mecha girl standing on Jura's other side.

"Recount sis. It's not the entire school. It's just the K's and the mechs," her blue armored twin adds.

"Which means that it's something special concerning us," Gina remarks.

"All the more reason for the rest of you to just shut up," Kumi snarls over her shoulder.

"Want to try making us, spider legs?" Kera growls.

"Knock it off, both of you, or _I'll_ make something of it," Kaze tells them both, while Crystal uses her telekinesis to forcibly keep Kumi's mouth shut, and Sera smacks her sister's shoulder to keep her from adding any more fuel to the fire.

"Time for some answers," Jura tells the others as Mandy and Milenna appear on the stage.

"Thank you for attending everyone," Mandy start things off.

"You didn't exactly give us much of a choice!" Gabriel calls back.

"Your point?" Mandy returns with an arched eyebrow. When no one else adds anything, she continues. "We've called you together today to inform you that for the lot of you, your Physical Education classes will no longer be required."

Confused murmuring is the main response as the students try to figure out what is going on.

"This is due to the fact that you will now have a _new_ part of the curriculum to deal with in its place," Mandy continues. "While some of you will find it enjoyable, others will find it to be a bit of effort, and not nearly as simple as gym was."

"If you would form up, and follow us, we will take you to where your new class will be held," Milenna adds, as she slips Mandy a gold bracelet. Once they turn away from the mic, she adds, "The green gem is the trigger. You'll have to be within three meters or so of the rings to activate them. Just press the gem."

Mandy nods in agreement as they lead the students down to the platform, and Milenna takes the first four in the line through with her.

"Next?" Mandy smiles as she ushers the next group into place, and activates the rings once more. After sending the rest through, she accompanies the final bunch on the jump.

"Now that everyone is here, allow me to introduce you to your new training center," Milenna announces as lights come on across the huge artificial cavern.

As the students mutter amongst themselves, several dark humanoid shapes shimmer into reality around the teachers.

"Kim, Sora, Kaze, Sera, Varnie, Connie, and Nyuu. Front and center," Mandy orders.

As the selected student line up across the front of the group, Gina mutters, "Odd group. Two Fighters, two mechs, two with no real powers, and one who is more like everyone's kid sister than anything else. I don't get it. None of them, except possibly Kim, even qualify as trouble makers."

"I think we're about to find out," Crystal tells her sister, as she points to where the shadow forms double their number, and solidify. Moments later they appear to be armored, either power armored people, or human scaled combat robots. The armor varies in color from black, to several shades of blue, a few are also tan or crimson.

"What you see behind me, are solid holograms," Milenna announces. "The systems in this facility can create any number, or type, of projections to use in your training. These, are little more than practice dummies, that can move and know some basic hand to hand combat."

"Attack the chosen students," Mandy orders.

Kim, and Sora spring away from the others, charging the suddenly rushing robots, while Kaze and Sera take up positions to protect the other three.

"Freeze program!" Milenna shouts, just before the robots can swarm Sora and Kim, before circling around the others.

"What the hell was that for? Where do you get off sicking your techy toys on us like that?" Crystal demands.

"This," Mandy says as she gestures to the robots, "was a test. A test to see how you would react if you, or those with you, are attacked by unknown forces."

"You three, have some work to do, and instincts to develop," Milenna announces, while looking squarely at Varnie, Connie, and Nyuu.

"Will Robots attack? Or was this all for show?" Kim asks, scratching his head as he inspects the robot he was about to attack.

"Program? Continue!" Milenna calls, as she and Mandy herd the rest of the students away from the others.

The sudden resumption catches both Sora and Kim off guard, allowing the robots to get in several free shots, before they can recover.

"You armed?" Kaze asks, as she and Sera prepare to face the coming horde.

"Got an energy blaster in my head," she answers. "All my other weapons are stored in the combat armor.

"Alright, then I'll take the front line, you bat clean up," Kaze says as she activates her choker, switching from her school uniform to her Mazinger Armor in a bright flash.

"Got your back," Sera confirms, bringing her hands up, as Kaze unleashes her Turbo Smasher Punches.

"Kim not like being Sucker Punched," he snarls as he rips the robot that was beating on him in half, and throws the pieces at the one standing over Sora.

"Thanks," she groans, her short white hair scattered as she rolls over and climbs to her feet, on hand held protectively over her left side.

"You alright?" Kim asks, as a pair of robots go flying past them from Kaze's defensive line.

"One got in a kick to the ribs. Kind a tender, but I'll live," she answers. "But for now, I'm looking for some payback," she snarls as she leaps at one of the robots from behind, ripping it's head off with one of her fearsome crescent kicks.

"Wait for Kim!" he yells, as he literally dives into the pile, and uses one of them as a club to smash three others.

"Hands off the merchandise!" Connie screeches as she beats on the head of one of the robots that made it past the defenders and grabs her around the waist, clearly intending to make off with her.

At least until it's back erupts with spikes of ice from the inside.

"You?" Varnie asks, looking at Nyuu in shock, as she sees the slight glow in the little blue girls eyes.

"I have powers, just like the rest of us," Nyuu answers, concentrating harder.

Suddenly, a wall of ice erupts from the floor around the three, sealing them away from the robots.

"Don't worry about us! Take them out!" Connie yells, as she kicks the robot that had grabbed her.

"Nice trick," Sera smirks, impressed.

"Time to kick some ass," Kaze grins.

"That too," Sera agrees, ripping an arm off one of the bots, to use as a club.

"Heads up!" Sora yells, falling back on her tail as a trio of robots rush her. As they get within reach, she forces herself forward again, and kangaroo kicks the bunch of them toward Kaze and Sera.

"Got 'em!" Kaze answers, rearing back her right arm, and smashing all three through the torso with the punch.

"Need a hand, big guy?" Sera asks, delivering a flying kick to one that was attempting to sneak up behind Kim.

"Kim can manage, but isn't greedy. Kim willing to share, so we can finish sooner," he answers, ducking a roundhouse as he spins, ripping the bot in half from the force of the impact from his tail.

"Works for me," Sera agrees, swinging her club at another's neck, ripping its head off from the force of the blow.

And with that, there are suddenly no more opponents for them to deal with.

"Well done!" Mandy calls, clapping her hands.

"Program, reset to default," Milenna orders, the debris from the battle fading away, and Nyuu's ice wall quickly melting under the localized heating source in the floor under it.

"This was a simple demonstration of what you will be dealing with down here ladies. You will learn to control your powers to a degree most of you have yet to master, _all_ of you will be instructed in self defense, and we have made certain that the program is able to teach even those of you who have no wish to fight how to defend themselves," Mandy announces.

"Care to take a run through to show us what you can do teach?" Giganna calls.

"Told you they'd want to get even," Milenna tells her.

"So you did," Mandy admits, a smirk on her face. "Shall we?"

"Of course," she answers. "Back with the group you seven. Computer? Simulation: teacher tag team. Level three."

As the students from the first demonstration move back to the group, Mandy and Milenna move out into the open, and stand back to back.

"Program, Activate!" Mandy orders, causing a handful of shadow forms to begin solidifying around them. These are far stranger than the opponents that the students faced, appearing to have a torso shaped like a hollow horn, with the opening where the head would be, and a half dozen tendrils to either side.

"You ready for this?" Milenna asks, as she assumes a fighting stance that the students have never seen before, let alone from her.

"I hope so," Mandy returns, her tail cracking like a whip off to the side, while she assumes a kung-fu stance, and makes a slight "bring it" gesture with her hand.

What follows is a sobering experience for the students, as they watch the two tear apart the group in short order. None of the students would have pegged either of the older women for being this capable in a fight, and watching as Milenna invades the opponents with her own tendrils, ripping their limbs off from within their own joints, while Mandy's punches and kicks are aided by whip like strikes of her horrendously powerful tail, fill the group with a newfound respect for their teachers.

"Holy shit!" Maizy cries out over the loudspeaker.

"Maizy?" Zoe calls, surprised to hear her voice down here.

"As you may have noticed, The Juniors will also be training down here, both in learning their powers, and in the basic self defense studies the rest of you will be undergoing," Mandy tells them, breathing a bit heavily from the exertion of their battle.

"They will be on a separate schedule from you, so that there will be no overlap between you. Most of the Juniors are not in your league, as far as power development is concerned after all," Milenna adds, a bit winded herself.

"Nice job, ladies," Tina calls out from the above control room, where she has the Juniors overlooking the arena.

"Each of you will be given a "key" to allow you to access this chamber. It will be the only way to activate the transport device that will bring you down here, so don't lose them," Milenna tells the older students.

"Things just got a lot more interesting around here," Kumi mutters under her breath.

Nods of agreement are the only answer any of the students have to add, after what they have just witnessed.

"You wanted to see us?" Zoe asks after knocking on Milenna's office door.

"Are all three of you here?" Milenna asks.

"No, I'm a figment of your over active imagination," Maizy retorts as she slips in behind Zoe.

"Yeah, you've got a whole set," Kaze adds as she slips in and closes the door.

"Good. I've got a little project I think you will want to be a part of…." She trails off with a grin.

"Give a girl a hand up will ya?" a grey/green skinned k-girl calls up toward the ship she is swimming near.

"I don't know. You might need to transform again, if there is another one of those mutated monsters around," a fairly handsome man in fatigue pants and brown t-shirt calls back, while letting his sunglasses slide down his nose so he can look over the top of them at the naked monster girl in the water.

"Johnny, if you _don't_ help me up, after I get back on board, I'm going to throw _you_ overboard," she retorts as she gets close enough to touch the hull.

"Easy, Ginoa. You know I can't deny my little Godzilla anything," he calls back down, right before flipping a rope ladder over the side to her.

"Lucky for you, or else I might have to roast that fine ass of yours," She grins as she flips over the side. Then she grabs him in a crushing hug and plants a big wet one on his lips.

When they come back up for air, he tells her, "Go ahead and get cleaned up. Your dad and the others want to hear about what you saw down there."

"Oh, alright," she groans, as she turns toward the hatch leading below decks.

"Look at it this way," Johnny whispers in her pointy ear. "Afterward, we can both go for a swim, and clean up together."

The images of what is most likely to happen in the shower at that time flash through her mind, bringing an evil little smile to her face.

"I like the way you think," she tells him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before ducking into their quarters to grab a towel and other shower supplies.

"I'll wait for you in here," he tells her retreating back, getting an acknowledging wave in return.

"May as well check my e-mail while I wait for her," he says, moving to his laptop.

After a few moments, the mail server spits up his account, and he quickly goes through the messages he's received. The title on one of them catches his eye, and gives him one of those proverbial "bad feelings".

"Criss, what are you doing sending me things? You're going to blow your cover," he mutters as he opens the file.

The color drains from his face as he reads the message, and the implications become abundantly clear why his brother had risked his secret under cover identity to pass this information to him.

"It's a good thing we're in the neighborhood," he says, as he closes the lid, and unplugs the machine from its power source. Then, forgetting his words to Ginoa in the face of the emergency he's been handed, he immediately goes to find her father, and the rest of Team H.E.A.T.

"Are you the one who left this for me?" A k-girl with brilliant orange feathers and wings demands of "Sam" when she finds him at Shiro's pizza parlor.

Looking at the stick of red bamboo in her hand, he smirks and nods, saying, "That I am. Take a seat."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't turn you in right this second!" she hisses at him as she reluctantly slides into the booth across from him.

"Because they will just send others, who won't be nearly as pleasant to deal with as I am," he returns.

"What do you want," she scowls at him.

"Me, personally? I'd love a date with you Connie, but I'm here as an errand boy and go between, so I'll have to save that request for later," he tells her.

"Fine, what do _they_ want?" she growls.

"They want you to do some insider work for them, and they would like you to recruit a few other K-girls to their cause, starting with this one," he answers her, sliding a small picture from his pocket over to her, of a cute blond, with red exoskeletal armor, and antenna on her head.

"What do you slime want with Ebi?" she demands.

"Back in the day, the RBA controlled the monster she is based on, and would like to continue the tradition," he answers.

"And if I refuse to help?" she demands, clearly not happy about any of this.

"Well, it would be really hard for you to explain if someone were to suddenly tip off the authorities to the fact that you have ties to an infamous terrorist organization. Be a shame for a beauty like you to spend the rest of her life in a cage," he informs her.

"You're a bastard, just like the rest of them," she whispers, knowing he's got her over a barrel.

"Don't blame the messenger, I'm just following orders," he tells her, holding his hands up in defense of his position in this matter.

"I'd rather kill the messenger," she snarls at him, dragging her talons across the table top, leaving a nasty set of tracks in their wake.

"Here… The information you will need to contact me is on this flash drive," he says as he slides it across the table to her. "Make sure you follow _all_ the instructions on it. After all, if anyone else found out what you're up to, it could very well result in a roasted chicken dinner, with you playing the part of the main course."

"Thanks a lot asshole," she mutters in disgust.

"Dinners on me," he tells her, as the server delivers a Hawaiian pizza to the table, as he is sliding out of the booth. Slipping the man several bills, he leaves her to contemplate the situation she's been forced into.

"Hello. The General is expecting us. These are the new pilot candidates," Milenna tells the guard at the entrance to the base.

"I'll have to confirm this, and they will have to take off those hoods so we can see their faces," he answers, waving at his partner, who had been listening in, to check with the Generals aid-de-camp.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening. Their identities are to remain a secret until after their evaluation.," Milenna returns, while the candidate in the front twists around and points a finger at the smallest of the group in the back of the car in a clear, "Don't you dare," gesture.

"That is completely contrary to procedure, and I'm not letting you move a millimeter closer to this base until they reveal their identities," the guard returns.

"Really?" Milenna asks, impressed by his resolve. She holds her hand out to the candidate in the front seat, who promptly places an opened cell phone in it. Putting it to her ear, she waits a moment, then says, "We are currently stuck at the main gate. Yes, they have checked, but the one at my window refuses to let us in without the candidates revealing their faces for him. Yes. Yes she is sitting next to me. Alright, I'll let you confirm that, then you can inform him."

With that, she passes the phone back to the one in the front, who holds a quiet conversation for a few moments.

Afterward she hands the phone back to Milenna who asks, "Good enough? Alright, here he is," before offering the phone out the window with the cryptic comment, "He wants to have a word with you."

The guard takes the phone, and is about to launch into a verbal tirade at the other person when he suddenly pales in shock. After nodding like a fool for several moments, he sputters, "Yes sir. No sir. Yes sir. Understood sir. Thank you sir. As soon as I can get them through sir." Carefully folding the phone closed, he hands it back to Milenna, before turning to his partner and ordering, "Raise it. They are cleared."

"You sure?" his partner asks, his hand over the controls for the barrier.

"Trust me, you do _not _want to delay them any more than we already have. I'll give you the rundown in a few, but for now, _open the damn gate!_" he tells his partner, snarling the last.

"You're the one who's taking the fall if this isn't on the level man," the other informs him, before pulling the lever to the "raise" position.

"Thank you," Milenna smiles at the guard she was talking to, before putting the car back into gear, and heading for the Generals office.

"Now what the fuck was that all about?" the guard within the shack demands.

"When they can make a call like that, and get the general himself on the line, that fast, and that irritated that we are holding up the show, you do what the guy in charge tell you to, and you do it yesterday. I have no inclination to clean every latrine on this base with a toothbrush, followed by reassignment to the R and D department as a test dummy," the first guard answers.

"You three ready for this?" Milenna asks, as the three candidates, the General, and Professor Yumi stand outside the door leading to the simulation units for the Mazinger piloting tests.

A trio of upraised thumbs is her answer, as they turn to enter the sim chambers.

"Shall we move to the control room to keep tabs on them?" the General suggests.

"By all means. I'm curious as to why my esteemed college here thinks that these three will have any more luck with these units than the current candidates," Professor Yumi remarks as they move.

"If I'm right, then in addition to what they are currently capable of, they were also practically born to pilot those robots," Milenna returns as they enter the command room, and take their places to observe the joint simulation.

"Bring the sim pods online," the leader, who had been the one in the front seat with Milenna, and is of middle height of the three, orders over the sim pods private radio channel.

"This is going to be fun," the smallest of the three remarks.

"It should be interesting, I'll give you that," the tallest of them agrees as she brings her pod online.

"From here on, we refer to each other by our machines names. I'm Great, you are Z, and you are Kaiser. Any questions?" the leader tells them.

"Works for me," the short one, Z, answers.

"Same here," Kaiser agrees.

"Then there is only one thing left to do," Great says as the pods come to life, displaying cockpit mockups of the Wilder vehicles.

"Mazin-GO! The three call out together as they all initiate take off, and circle around to the separate pools where Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, and MazinKaiser are raising, preparing for their first test, Docking the Wilders, and activating the Mazingers.

"The one calling herself Great shows great skills at command, and obviously has the respect of the others," Professor Yumi remarks as they watch the three flawlessly dock with the larger machines, bringing them to life. "Although I find it a bit odd that she chose to pilot Great Mazinger. I would have expected the team leader to want to be at the controls of the MazinKaiser."

"If they keep performing like this, you will get the answers you're fishing for afterward," Milenna assures him, bringing their attention back to the sim screens. What is the next challenge going to be?" she asks.

"One on one combat, with robotic monsters from Z's battle archives," Yumi returns, flipping a few switches. "Each of them will face one of these," he tells them, displaying a picture of a skull headed robot with two huge horn shaped swords growing from its head.

"This should prove interesting," the General remarks.

"Keep your eyes open you two. I don't know what they have in mind for us, but you can bet that we're going to get a tougher run than the others, just because of how things came to be to get us here," Great tells them over the com.

"I'm going to kick the ass of anything that wants to get in my way," Z retorts.

"Easy short stack," Kaiser returns, earning a growl over the com line. "You know as well as I do that if you get over confident then you get your ass kicked, not the other way around."

No sooner are those words uttered, than the ground on either side of the group, as well as directly in front, erupts in an explosion of dirt that rattles and pings off of the metal giants.

When the dust clears, their three opponents stand before them, flexing their hands, and generally looking like they are ready to rip a Mazingers head off.

"This part of the sim covers one on one combat. The only rules are, come out alive, and don't bust up the robot you're driving too much," a voice from the command room informs them.

"You heard him. Let's take these things apart," Great orders, as Great Mazinger pulls one of its swords free, and activates its internal scrambler flight pack to dash forward and attack the one in front of the group.

"Gladly," Z returns, Mazinger Z going through the motions of cracking its knuckles as it faces off with the one on the right side of their formation.

"Turbo Smasher Punch!" Kaiser yells, activating the weapon and launching the MazinKaiser's left forearm at her opponent.

"They seem to have an instinctive understanding on how and when to use the weapons each unit is equipped with," the Professor says in surprise, as each of the Mazingers responds in the best possible way to the threat it faces. Great locks blades with its opponent, before kicking off and unleashing the Fire Blaster to reduce it to slag before it can recover. Meanwhile, Z pops out the Iron Cutters from Mazinger Z's forearms, and uses them to defend against strikes from the massive blades, before launching them at the exact time to slice through her opponents arms, then leveling the rest of the robot with a barrage of Photon Beams, followed with her Fire Blaster. 'Kaiser's opening assault, was also its finisher, as the punch took off the robots head on the way out, and ripped through its torso on the way back, causing it to self destruct.

"Damn. Even I didn't expect them to handle those things that quickly," Milenna says, pleased with the way her group is handling things.

"What are the damage ratings? The General asks of the operator in charge of that part of the system.

"Mazinger Z is down a couple of points, due to having to go hand to blade with its opponent. Great is still at full armor, and nothing even got close to the Kaiser," the tech responds.

"And how did the best of the other candidates do at this point?" the general asks Professor Yumi.

"As a rule, we didn't have them share a battlefield, we had them in individual sims. But normally by this point the best Z pilot would have been down fifteen to twenty percent of his armor, Great, about the same, and the Kaiser would still be in combat, because most of them can't hit the broad side of a mountain with its weapons," he answers. "But now, it's time to give them something a little more difficult to deal with," he adds, punching a few commands in, and displaying a monster of a robotic beast.

"_That _is one ugly S.O.B." the General comments getting a look at the huge beast.

"We call it the Chimera, since it's constructed using the best parts of several of the different robot monsters. We've also increased its size and other attributes to make it one of the tougher "bosses" of the simulator/game" the professor explains. "This one is one of the larger ones we have programmed in, and is roughly twice the size of the MazinKaiser."

"Send it in," the General orders.

"Move to grid Alpha Twelve, and await further instructions," the flight controller orders the Mazinger team.

"You heard him, let's go," Great orders, waving the others to follow.

"That base looks like our destination," Z says, pointing out a walled military base similar in design to the one they are on at the moment.

"I think you're right," Great agrees, as they turn and start in that direction.

The first explosion is accompanied by a frantic radio message, reporting that the base is under attack by a robotic monster.

"Move!" Great orders, as Great Mazinger once again deploys its flight gear and takes off, leaving both Z and Kaiser in the dust.

"I wish these had internal flight packs too," Kaiser mutters.

"Forgetting something, aren't you?" Z asks, a smirk evident in her voice. "Scrambler, Launch!" she orders into the com.

"Scrambler away, and en-route to your location," the flight controller returns.

"Doh! Stupid mistake!" Kaiser growls at herself, before following suit with, "Kaiser Scrambler, Launch!" and getting a similar message in return.

In the time it takes the pair of robots to sprint a half dozen steps, their radar systems alert them that their flight gear has arrived.

Both of them leap into the air, while shouting, "Scrambler, On!" After the link up, they both boost off to the base, arriving in a matter of seconds.

"Not the best reflection on the Kaiser pilot," the General muses.

"Not as bad as you think," the Professor returns. "It took most of the others ten tries before they even thought to ask if Mazinger Z or MazinKaiser even _had_ any flight capabilities. Then another half dozen before they managed to get the linkup to work."

"Looks like these three are still way ahead of the curve," Milenna smiles.

"Took you long enough!" Great yells as Kaiser and Z arrive.

"Sorry, we had to wait for our pizza to show up, before we could leave," Kaiser returns, before the robot beast lands before the three of them hard enough to shake the ground and make their balance waiver for a moment.

"Okay, now _that_, is one big, bad, and ugly, bad guy," Z remarks, looking up at the Chimera.

The beast screech/roars at them, before unleashing electric bolts from its eyes that carve trenches in the ground as they track in toward the Mazingers.

"Scatter!" Great orders, her mech once more sprouting wings, and takes to the air, soon to be joined by the others.

The beast roars once more, and launches in pursuit.

"Z! Keep him busy! Kaiser! We clip his wings!" Great orders.

"How the hell do I do that?" Z demands, jetting clear of one of the beasts rushes.

"Teach him how to play tag," Kaiser retorts, a grin in her voice.

"Best idea I've heard in a while," Z returns, the grin in her voice as big as Mazinger Z's mouth grill. Mazinger Z then places itself directly in the monsters path, hovering there with its arms crossed, just waiting as the beast closes the distance.

"Is she trying to get herself killed?" Great demands, shocked by Z's behavior.

"Trust her," Kaiser returns, pulling a sword from within MazinKaisers' shoulder armor.

Before Great can make another comment, the beast is within range, and gets ready to make its attack on Mazinger Z.

"Tag! You're it!" Z cries, Mazinger Z flipping backward into a kick that connects with the beasts chin and knocks it into a path that blows past without crashing into it.

The beast roars in rage as it loops around, and attempts to rip Mazinger Z apart with its claws.

"That has to be one of the most insane things I have ever seen," the General remarks as they watch Mazinger Z perform it's kick, and then begin a series of evasive maneuvers that most of the people in the room wouldn't have believed the robot was capable of performing.

"Insane or not, the plan seems to be working. Mazinger Z _really_ pissed off the Chimera with that kick, and managing to stay out of reach is just making it madder," one of the operators remarks.

"I'm astounded. Even Kouji couldn't handle Mazinger Z like that, and he piloted it for years," Professor Yumi mutters, shocked by the display of prowess he's witnessing.

"Ready?" Great asks, as Great Mazinger draws its blade once more.

"Let's ground this turkey," Kaiser returns.

"Z! Bring him to us, and we'll scratch your back for you!" Great calls.

"You want him, you got him," Z shoots back, Mazinger Z diving for the ground with the Chimera in hot pursuit. "I'm bringing him straight up to you," she warns as Mazinger Z levels out near ground level.

"I've seen this one before, so get ready," Kaiser warns.

Mazinger Z's scrambler then cuts out, and the robot curls itself into a forward flip as it sinks toward the ground. As it's about to roll past the point it can put its feet down and land, the black and silver titan straitens its body, radically altering its course, as the Scrambler ignites once more, bringing Mazinger Z on a ballistic course directly between Great Mazinger and MazinKaiser.

"How the hell does she do that?" Great asks, stunned by the maneuver.

"Couldn't tell you, but I know firsthand that it's nearly impossible to follow her through it," Kaiser returns, as they watch the beast crash in to the ground in an attempt to catch the now rapidly climbing super robot. With another shriek of rage, the beast launches itself skyward, once more intent on ripping Mazinger Z apart.

"Anytime now you guys!" Z calls a she flashes between the pair.

"Now!" Great orders, as the two waiting robots each deliver a monstrous slash to the rapidly climbing Chimera. It continues to climb for a few moments longer, until its momentum is no longer capable of overcoming the lack of lift from it's now amputated wings.

"Give him some room," Kaiser tells the others, as they spread out to allow the monster to flash back toward the ground, continuously gaining speed until it impacts, raising a huge cloud of dust.

"That's going to leave a mark," Z smirks, as Mazinger Z drops down to the same level as the others.

The energy bolt from within the cloud hammers Mazinger Z, knocking the smallest of the super robots back several dozen meters, and leaving a long charred mark across its torso.

"So is that," Great winces as She moves Great Mazinger over to check on the other robot.

"Oooo, that's got to smart," Milenna mutters as they watch Mazinger Z get hammered.

"Mazinger Z's armor rating just dropped by thirty percent. It isn't going to be able to take many more like that," the operator reports.

"I don't think it's going to need to," the Professor tells them, staring at the screen, where the MazinKaiser is dropping like a rock, directly at the Chimera.

"Oh, boy. She's mad now," Milenna mutters.

"Kaiser! Get back here!" Great orders, as she notices the larger mech descending.

"Look after Z. Someone needs to be taught a lesson about taking pot shots at us," she answers, cutting power to the Scrambler, and dropping in a Bison style head stomp toward the Chimera.

"How you doing," Great asks Z, once she is close enough to lay Great Mazinger's hands on the other robot.

"Little shook up, and royally pissed off," Z answers, her tone matching her words. "Armor took a beating, and the belly missile is out of commission, 'cause the launch door is welded shut now," she adds.

"Let's go then. Kaiser is down there, and I think she's looking for payback for you again," Great tells her, before Great Mazinger dives toward the ground.

"I just hope she leaves some for me to beat on this time," Z mutters, as the first Mazinger follows after the second.

The Chimera detects the MazinKaisers approach, and gets clear before it can be hammered into the ground by its landing. Once the dust clears, it unleashes more energy bolts, as well as a flame blast from its mouth.

"That all you've got?" Kaiser smirks as MazinKaiser strides through the fusillade, the blasts and flames splashing off its armor with little to no effect.

The beast mech roars again, and redoubles its assault on the approaching super robot, as it reaches up and removes the blades from its head, much like their first set of opponents did.

"Better, but still not good enough," Kaiser grins. "Photon Beam!" she calls, unleashing the MazinKaisers eyebeams, and causing an energy discharge explosion when the differing energies collide.

The Chimera pulls up short as the explosion blinds it's sensors for a moment. When it lowers its protective arm, it gets a face full of black armored fist, as MazinKaiser unloads a haymaker into its face, knocking it back dozens of meters. As it recovers, Kaiser sends her mech into an earth shaking run, ending in a missile dropkick to the monsters chest, laying it out on its back.

"And that one was for Z," she growls, as MazinKaiser gets back to its feet.

"What's the 'Kaiser's armor rating after that?" the General demands, shocked that the machine could withstand such a barrage and continue to function.

"There must be a problem with the program," the operator informs him. "According to this, it's still at one hundred percent!"

"There isn't anything wrong with the simulator," the Professor informs them. MazinKaiser really is that strong. It took us three days with a diamond tip drill to get enough of its armor to test."

"Oh, this is going to leave a mark," Milenna mutters when she sees what they are about to do to the Chimera.

"Kaiser! Stop playing, and let's finish this thing," Great orders as the pair of remaining Mazingers land on either side of MazinKaiser.

"Then it's time to say goodbye to Mr. Ugly," Kaiser returns, as the three of them assume the same stance.

"Fire Blaster!" they all call, the triple dose of heat beam melting the Chimera into a blob, before its power core detonates.

"Yeah! What's next for us to trash?" Z yells in excitement.

"Well Professor?" Milenna asks, a satisfied smile on her face. "Do we keep this going? Or do we move them to the real thing?"

"The call is yours Professor Yumi. You are the authority on these robots, and if you think they need to continue, we will," the General tells him.

The Professor remains silent for a bit, as he watches the three robots, and their mysterious pilots, return to the spot they were told to report to before the Chimera had attacked.

"Shut them down," he orders. "They have already proven themselves superior to the rest of the pilots. Make sure that this run has been recorded, and ensure that the rest of the Mazinger team candidates get a copy to study. I want them to know just how much work they have ahead of them before they will be allowed to take the real thing out in the field."

"What the hell is going on?" Z demands, as the power suddenly dies in her sim pod. As she scrambles for the exit hatch, she is greeted by the sight of the others exiting their pods as well.

"Power just up and die on you?" Kaiser asks them.

"You got it," Z answers, while Great just nods.

The outer door opens, causing them to all make sure that the concealing hoods on their sweats are still up and doing their job.

"The reason your simulation was cut short, is due to the fact that you have blown every other candidate out of the running. Not a single one of them displays the capabilities that you three have demonstrated to us so far," Professor Yumi tells them as he leads Milenna and the General into the chamber.

"Due to a deal that I made with Miss Milenna, you three are now ready to proceed to a live piloting exercise," the General informs them, grinning at the gestures of pleasure he sees while they attempt to maintain their mystery and silence.

"Before we allow that, I would truly like to know the identities of such excellent pilots," the Professor tells them.

The three turn to Milenna, clearly asking her permission to unmask themselves.

"Go for it girls. He's earned the right several times over to meet you," she answers.

Each of the grey garbed candidates reach within their hoods, to touch something on the side of their neck. The resulting flash is blinding in the dim lighting of the sim chamber.

When the Professor can see once more, his jaw drops in shock as he gets his first good look at some of the most infamous students at DKH.

"'Bout time. I was getting sick and tired of keeping quiet all the time," Maizy grins, crossing her arms and leaning against a nearby pod.

"I'm surprised you managed it this long," Kaze smirks, crossing her own arms under her armored chest plate.

"I'm proud of both of you," Zoe smiles at them.

"Professor, General, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to the Mazinger Sisters. The short one is Maizy, the prototype for all the cyber dolls, and as I'm sure you have noticed, modeled after Mazinger Z. Mazinger Zoe, war hero, and voice of reason among them, and Modeled after the Great Mazinger. Lastly we have the giant of the family, Mazin-Kaze. She's the last of them to have been awakened, and is still getting the hang of things. Not to mention being modeled after the most formidable MazinKaiser," Milenna tells them.

"The general and I already know each other," Zoe announces, smiling as she moves over to him and pulls him into a hug. "Although last time I saw him, his position was quite a bit farther down the chain of command."

"At least this time, if I ask you to do something suicidal, it's because there isn't any other choice, not because I'm passing on the orders of some fool who wants you girls out of commission," he returns, releasing her.

"My god….They told me about you, but I had never dreamed that you would be so…..well, _human_!" the Professor sputters.

"I had some excellent teachers in that regard," Zoe tells him with a gentle smile.

"And she made sure to pass it along to us," Kaze adds.

"Please, tell me your story, before we move on. I want to know everything you are allowed to tell me," the professor nearly pleads with the mechanized sisters.

"Let's talk on the way. It's a long story, and an equally long walk to where the Mazingers are stored," Milenna tells everyone.

"How is your progress?" the general asks Dr. Tokai.

"Thanks to Sumegi's program, we are much farther along than I had anticipated being," she answers. "Their shells are mostly done already, but we still have a fair amount of programming to accomplish before they are ready to be awakened."

"I'll leave you to it then. Oh, I would like your daughters to report to me tomorrow. I have a project I would like them to join, and I think that they will be indispensable to it," he adds.

"Oh? What would that be?" she asks.

"I would like to evaluate them as pilots of a certain group of Mecha," he answers. "I would also like you to ensure that the new ones will be qualified to pilot the mech they are based on. It may make all the difference in the world."

"Very well. Expect to see them tomorrow morning," she returns, turning back to the project.

"Wonder if we will ever have to use them?" Kaze asks Zoe as the pair of them lead a mixed group of K's through one of the more difficult combat sims.

"With any luck, no. The way our world works? Before the year is out," Zoe returns, as she blasts one of the higher end holo-bots with her photon beams, knocking it back, but not destroying it.

Kaze gives it a blast too, knocking it off its feet, but failing to take it out.

"Going to need a hand up here," Zoe calls back as the bot gets back to its feet, and is joined by two more of similar design.

"What the hell is up here that you two can't deal with it?" Crystal growls as she levitates up behind them. "Oh. Yeah, these guys look like they're going to be a problem," she admits when she gets a look at their opponents.

"Give us a barricade a ways back, and get the weaker members of the group down behind it. We'll fall back slowly to give you the time you need. When I give the signal, I want everyone who's able to blast these guys with everything they've got," Zoe tells her.

"Got it. You know, if not for the fact that doing this for real would really suck, this would almost be fun," the blue saurian smirks, before retreating back the way they had come, to put Zoe's plan into action.

"Never would have thought I'd see the day when I gave her orders, and she actually followed them, let alone willingly," Zoe chuckles to herself as she charges her systems for a Lightning Break. "I can't really get a good charge of lightning in here, so you're going to have to do the heavy lifting on this," she adds to Kaze as she unleashes her bolt, again knocking one of the bots backward a few steps, but failing to down it.

"I've got this. Go set up the hammer, while I play anvil," Kaze tells her.

"Try to keep from getting anything ripped off," Zoe warns her. "I've noticed that the sims are a little harder on the mechs then the organics."

"Got it covered," Kaze assures her.

"Take care," Zoe whispers as she turns her back and leaves her sister to face the three larger robots on her own.

"Now that the chaperone is gone, let's get down to it," Kaze sneers, before her battle mask snaps into place.

"We've got a problem up ahead," Crystal tells the others as she rejoins them.

"Got one back here, too," Sora calls as she rejoins them from the other direction.

"What's back there?" Crystal asks in an exasperated voice as she begins creating the barricade that Zoe requested.

"Three slagged robots, and one that thought it could win a knife fight with its bare hands," Jura pants as she limps up behind Sora, dragging her crystal blade along the ground behind her.

"I don't want to know. Not if they busted you up like that," Crystal mutters as she lifts everyone inside the circular formation of crystal.

"Everyone ready back here?" Zoe asks, as she vaults over the top of the crystal wall.

"Haven't had a chance to fill them in yet," Crystal tells her.

"We've got three really tough ones up ahead," Zoe tells them, as she looks around at the group. "Kaze is slowing them down, but when she rejoins us, I want to hit them with everything we've got."

"Yet another case where I'm not much help," Varnie mutters, looking disgusted.

"Everyone feels like that sometimes, you just need to do what you can" Mari tells her, the aqua mothra girl giving her a one armed hug.

"Awe, isn't that sweet," Gabrielle mutters.

"Zip it, or I'll kick you in the head," Sora growls at her.

"As entertaining as that might be to witness, we have bigger problems," Kaze adds, as she sprints in and hurdles the wall, just ahead of several energy blasts.

"I need a charge," Jura mutters, holding her blade up.

"What's wrong with you?" Kaze suddenly demands, as one of the energy blasts hits the upraised sword.

"Used too much power taking care of the ones that were trying to hit us from behind," she answers, the strain in her voice suddenly gone, and all signs of exhaustion draining away in an instant. When she reopens her eyes, she is alert and ready to continue once more.

"Here they come!" Sora calls as the three hulking robots clear the door way.

"Hit 'em hard!" Zoe orders, as she and the others with long rage attacks stand up and unleash their powers.

When the smoke clears, all that is left of the three is their legs standing in the way of the exit.

"Let's go," Crystal says, as her wall crumbles into crystalline powder.

"Yeah, before the next challenge is ready for us," Zoe mutters, as the group moves out, Crystal and Sora covering their backs.

"Too late," Kaze snarls, as their next challenge crashes through the wall in front of them.

The hulking shoulders on the red mech snap open, and it growls as it unleashes both rocket pods concealed within.

The smoke suddenly vanishes, along with the confining walls the group had been traveling within.

"What happened?" Kaze demands.

"We lost. That last one brought the place down on our heads, and since the sim ended, it most likely killed at least half of us," Varnie answers.

"Damn, and I wanted to rip that guy apart," Kaze mutters.

"Probably wouldn't have taken much. Everything around here just seems to bounce off of you," Gabby growls, clearly not happy that she's been "killed" without having anything to say about it.

"I can't help that I'm the strongest one of us," Kaze shoots back.

"Kim want to dispute that claim," the K-boy calmly tells her as they all spin around to see the new voice.

"You want a piece of me, lunchbox?" Kaze demands, using the latest derogatory name Guy Kim Odo has acquired.

"Clear out ladies," Crystal orders, levitating clear of the soon to be brawl zone.

"Watch your ass, she's not just bragging," Sora mutters to her regular sparring partner.

"Kim always take fight seriously," he returns.

"Any rules you want to lay down before we start this?" Kaze asks.

"No," Kim grins, as he leaps forward and unleashes a haymaker that catches Kaze by surprise.

"What the hell are they doing down there?" Mandy growls as she checks to find out why the simulation zone hasn't been cleared by the last group yet.

Kim crashing into the outside of the observation windows, before falling back to the ground answers the question quite succinctly.

"That was for the sucker punch!" Kaze snarls, as Kim lands in a crouch after his impromptu flight.

"Not bad. You give Kim challenge for a change!" the k-boy grins as he leaps back into the fight, dashing back toward the Mazinger girl, and launching himself into a flying kick as soon as he's back within range.

"Going to have to do better than –" Kaze smirks as she ducks out of the way. Too bad Kim planned for that and was planning to smack her in the face with his tail on the way through. When she picks herself back up, it's clear to all that she is mad.

"Run out of ways to fight already?" Kim taunts, bouncing lightly on his feet as he maneuvers around her.

The sound of her battle mask snapping into place is the only thing he hears as she glares at him.

"Should Kim finish fight now?" he asks, as he braces himself for the recoil of his most powerful attack.

"Bring it, lunchbox," she growls, as the crest on her chest plate starts to glow.

"King of Monsters, Final Attack!" Kim calls out, as the plates on his back begin to glow as well. "Shin Hado Goji Ken!"

"Fire Blaster!" Kaze calls at the same time.

The twin rivers of energy, one a glowing blue, the other crimson shot through with golden lightning, collide causing an explosion that leave none standing in its wake.

"Dear God! What are they trying to do? Kill each other?" Mandy cries as the entire place rocks with the force of the explosion.

"Kim offered up a challenge to see which of them was really the strongest one here," Crystal smirks from the back of the room. "I wasn't dumb enough to want a front row seat for this one, so I came up here for a better view."

"Why me?" Mandy mutters, dropping her head and massaging her temples.

"Owe. Kim think that not go quite as planned," mutters as he peals himself off the far wall.

"I thought you where tougher than that?" Kaze returns, her smirk hidden by her mask.

"Kim ready to continue if you are," he returns, resuming his fighting stance.

"Gladly," she agrees, before blasting him off his feet again with her Photon Beams.

"Now who's using cheap attacks?" he growls, charging back toward her.

"You started this with one, seemed only fair to return the favor!" she shoots back, rushing forward as her forearm armor spins up.

They meet in an exchange of awesome power, as each one delivers a massive punch to the face of the other.

"Ouch. They're both going to feel that one in the morning," Crystal mutters, as the pair go flying back from each other as a result of the blows.

"Not bad, robo-girl. But Kim done playing!" he calls as he springs back to his feet, and sprints toward her.

"Oh, shut up," she mutters, waiting for him to leap toward her as she remains on her back. When he jumps up in preparation to deliver a ground pulverizing end punch, she brings up both arms, and fires them.

Caught with no way to dodge, Kim takes both shots in the gut, and rides them up to the ceiling, where he is slammed into it with enough force to leave an imprint of his body.

It takes a few extra moments for his weight to drag him free of his imprint. By the time he returns to the "ground" level, Kaze has reclaimed her arms, and is waiting for him.

"Had enough?" Kaze growls, preparing to let him have it with everything in her arsenal at once.

"No. One last challenge," Kim tells her, as he gets back to his feet.

"You can't match me, why don't you just throw in the towel?" she tells him as she relaxes from her stance.

"Test of strength. Let Kim see just how strong you are, without weapons," he returns, holding up both hands, and waiting for her to answer his challenge.

"You're going to regret this," she tells him, clasping his hands.

"We…will see…" he grunts as they begin.

Things go back and forth for more than ten minutes, until Kim finally shifts his weight, and hurls Kaze into a wall hard enough to knock her off line momentarily.

"Kim wins!" he cheers, holding both hands up in victory.

"Not quite," Jura tells him, before smashing him in the face and launching him across the arena, before going to check on Kaze.

"And that is why you don't pick on a girls girlfriend," Crystal smugly grins.

"It's a good thing he heals fast. Otherwise he's going to need dental work after that one," Mandy agrees.

"You alright?" Jura asks, as Kaze slowly sits back up.

"I'm going to rip his head off," she mutters, only to have Jura put a hand against her chest to keep her from getting up.

"It's handled," she smiles sweetly, before standing herself, and offering Kaze a hand.

"Wha?" Kaze asks, after looking for Kim, and finding him sitting some distance away, massaging his jaw.

"Beating you was one thing. Gloating about it was a bad idea," Jura returns, as she guides Kaze out of the arena.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Milenna asks Katsura as she guides Dr. Tokai's team down toward the transporter to the "arena" as the girls have taken to calling it.

"Dr. Tokai needs a secure place to run the combat trials on these three, and things don't get much more secure than the Arena. It might not be the best idea, but it's the best one we've got at the moment," the silver saurian returns.

"I would like to thank you for trusting us with this secret," Dr. Tokai adds.

"Katsura was forced to reveal some of what you have done for the girls recently," Milenna tells her, earning Katsura a sharp look from her. If your goals really _are_ to make them more humanlike in their behavior, then I can hardly object. If this helps make sure that the latest objects of your efforts end up as human as Zoe and her sisters, or Katsura and hers, then I can hardly object to assisting in bringing it to pass."

"And this is how we get to the Arena?" Dr. Tokai asks, when they arrive at the circular design that conceals the transport device.

"Katsura, you activate the rings to bring the others through, and bring up the rear, if you would," Milenna requests. "Doctor, if you would join me here?"

"This isn't going to hurt, is it?" she asks, as she steps up next to the alien teacher.

"Hardly," Milenna returns, as she activates the system.

The doctor jumps slightly when the rings rise, and is startled once more by the bright light. Then she looks on in awe at the Arena.

"Amazing. I can hardly believe that you managed construct all this in secret while still holding classes above," Dr. Tokai whispers as they leave the platform, and look out over the Arena from the control room.

She jumps again as the next group arrives, and they begin spreading out to set up their gear.

"That is everyone," Katsura reports as she arrives by herself.

"Alright people! Let's break them out of the travel cocoons, and bring them online," Dr. Tokai orders as the three large objects are stood on end, while techs work on panels located on the sides.

"So what have you brought to life this time?" Milenna asks as the lids to the travel cases open, and three sets of optics flicker to life.

"Uh, I really wish we didn't have to shut down and ride in these things. I don't like being off line while I'm moved around like luggage," the first to awake mutters, brushing her spiky black hair back from her eyes. "Where is my armor?" she demands, looking around as she steps free of the box, and stretches, forcing her jumpsuit to hug her frame all the more.

"Over here, Ryta," Dr. Tokai tells her, as she points out the equipment cases that are clearly marked with each of the girls names.

"Good. C'mon, Hanna, Becky, let's get our act back together," Ryta orders.

"But I was enjoying my nap," Becky mutters as she climbs free of her transport case, her clearly muscular frame hinting at immense physical strength.

"So what else is new?" the final member of the group smiles as she flips her brown ponytail over her shoulder, and lithely moves over to collect her own gear.

In a few short moments, the trio is geared up, and stand before their creator.

"New Getter Team, ready for duty ma'am," Ryta reports.

"Impressive. If they really are armed with Getter Ray technology, I suddenly understand why Katsura wanted to use the Arena for this," Milenna smirks.

"Indeed. If you would escort them to the Battle Zone, Katsura, we can get this over with, and give them a clean bill of health, and release them for active duty," Dr. Tokai instructs.

"This way," Katsura tells the three, waving them to follow her.

"Alright ladies, according to the owners around here, you will be facing "solid light" holographic opponents. That means that you can cut loose and take them apart without worrying about harming anyone," Hitomi tells them over the P.A. system. "Ryta, you're up first."

"You two can wait over here, and stay out of her way," Katsura tells the others, as she leads them off to the side, before heading back up to the control room.

"Let's do this!" Ryta calls out, once the others clear the area.

"You heard her. Let her have it. Start her off with the cannon fodder models, and then cycle her up to the challenging stuff," Dr. Tokai tells the others.

"Yes, Ma'am," one of the techs answers, as Milenna gives them a quick course in how to operate the systems.

"This is going to be fun," Ryta grins, as the first of the opponents start to form around her.

Her grin is wiped off her face as one of the seven, the one behind her, decks her across the back of the head hard enough to drop her to her knees. The others immediately join the first in pummeling and kicking her while she is down.

"Ouch. Is she going to be alright?" Katsura asks, as she watches intently from the observation window.

"It's going to take more than that little beating to take out any of these three," Dr. Tokai tells her, as she joins her. "If I'm right, all they are doing is making her mad."

"Get off of me!" Ryta screams as she bats her opponents away, revealing that she had drawn one of her "tomahawks" while she was down. "Payback time," she growls, dashing toward the nearest one, and cleaving it down the center.

She rapidly dispatches three more in a similar manner, when the last three pull handguns, and proceed to spray bullets at her.

"Hey! Those shells actually hurt!" she snarls, as a pink glow appears across her lower torso. "You shoot at me, you better be ready for me to shoot back!" she yells, as the pink energy blast fires from the lens in her "belly" and obliterates the three remaining mechs.

"Time to up the difficulty a bit," Dr. Tokai says aloud.

"We have quite a selection to choose from," one of the techs returns, while Ryta "catches her breath".

"Got anything roughly twice as tough as what she's just dealt with?" she returns.

"A bit more than that, but I think you will be happy with them," Milenna tells her, as she points out the proper selection on the techs screen.

"Level Two. Time to stop playing around down there Ryta," Dr. Tokai calls down over the P.A.

"Yeah, that last one was just a pile of shits and giggles," the mecha girl mutters under her breath as she rubs at some of the spots where the "simulated" bullets hit her. "They might be safety regulated to not kill, but they sure as hell _hurt,_" she adds, as a new opponent forms.

This one is at least twice as massive as the previous ones. Large drills can be seen poking over its shoulders, and its sword is easily twice the size of Ryta.

"Fuck me…." she breaths in awe, as the monster of a mech takes a step toward her, one drill sliding from its back to cover its forearm before it points the limb at her. The pose triggers her warning instincts, just before it launches at her. "Damnit all to hell!" she snarls, as the drill takes the tip off one of the back projections that form her flight wings.

As the mechs arm returns, and the drill slides back up to its storage point on the back, the mech faces Ryta once more, this time bringing its blade up in a two handed grip that clearly states that it knows how to use it.

"This… is not good," she remarks, as she pulls her pair of tomahawks, and combines them into a double bladed staff weapon.

Leaping above the diagonal slash from the hulking mech, Ryta counters with the flat side of one of the blades of her weapon, attempting to jar the sword from the mechs grip.

It's less than effective, as the mech wrenches the blade free, and spins around to deliver a backhanded strike with the blunt side of the blade, which knocks Ryta across the arena.

"Okay….Now I'm _pissed_," she snarls, as she gets back to her feet, holding her side.

"Damn, I really thought she would be doing better than this," Katsura remarks, as they watch the red and white armored warrior get sent flying.

"She had to realize that just because it's a sim, that doesn't mean you can't get hurt," Dr. Tokai tells her, as the pair continues to watch out the window. "Oh, no… She wasn't supposed to use that any time before I told her that it was time to test it!" she adds, as Ryta starts to glow with power.

"You shouldn't have made me mad," Ryta snarls, as the green energies within her body begin to leak through, reacting with her armor to create a golden glow that surrounds her as she stands tall once more.

The mech answers by breaking into a charge, its colossal blade leveled at the female mech.

"Piss off," she growls, as a golden power bolt erupts from her belly cannon, ripping the mech in half.

"Enough! Ryta, Power Down This Instant!" Dr. Tokai snarls through the speakers, Jarring Ryta out of the power trip she sent herself on by activating her previously untested power booster.

"Yes ma'am," she answers, the glow quickly fading, as she tips her head back to face the observation windows.

"Get your metal ass up here so we can see what kind of damage you did to yourself with that stunt!" Dr. Tokai snarls down to her, clearly putting an end to her simulation run.

"Not one of my smarter ideas," Ryta mutters as she trudges toward the stairs.

"Becky? You're up," Katsura calls down, while Dr. Tokai reads Ryta the riot act.

"Alright," the largest of the three answers, as she moves away from the edge of the fighting arena, and toward the center.

"She's the strongest of the three, as far as armor and strength go, so set her up accordingly," Katsura tells the tech, while Milenna takes Dr. Tokai's place at the window.

Moments later, Becky's first set of opponents begin to materialize around her.

"_Hmm…. These are different. Some kind of bladed tonfa style hand weapons. Have to make sure that they don't get a chance to use them on me,"_ Becky thinks as she slowly turns in a circle, counting up a dozen in total.

As they assume their ready stance, she rapidly spins herself in place, her arms extending as she turns, lengthening more than three times their normal size, her hands ripping through her opponents as if their armor was cardboard.

"Damn, that was impressive," Milenna admits, as they watch the remains of the tonfa equipped mechs de-rezz, while Becky's arms snap back to their normal length.

"Give her the triple team to deal with," Dr. Tokai tells the tech, having looked through the rouges gallery for the sim while Ryta was testing.

"Yes, Ma'am," the tech answers, rapidly punching in the needed commands.

"This should be interesting. None of the K-girls have faced off against this set yet," Milenna smirks.

"Wonder what's next?" Becky mutters, as she waits for her next opponents to appear.

She doesn't have to wait long, as first a slim mech with a large flight pack appears, followed by a moderately built one, and finally a hulking brute of a mech with two huge shoulder cannons.

"Wonder if the doc is mad at all of us over what Ryta did?" she idly wonders as the three stand shoulder to shoulder and point a wide variety of weapons at her.

The firestorm that the three unleash at her is impressive by anyone's standards, with the big ones shoulder cannons blasting Becky off her feet and sending her skidding across the arena on her back.

"My turn," she growls as her legs open up, transforming her lower half into a kind of tank, and she charges back toward them, her treads tearing up some of the surface. "Getter Missiles!" she calls, her shoulder compartments opening, and a hail of mini-missiles shooting back toward the three.

"Ouch. Almost makes you feel bad for the sim-bots, doesn't it?" Katsura asks, as they watch the detonation of the missile attack on the trio.

"Definitely glad it wasn't aimed at me," Milenna agrees, while Dr. Tokai looks on.

When the smoke clears, the three are still standing, but it's clear that they took a pounding from that attack.

"Ready to surrender? Or do you want some more?" Becky demands, as she stands back up, the tank treads vanishing back within her legs as the halves come back together again.

Rather than answer, the three jump apart, landing a bit away from each other, before leaping toward a point above her head. There is a blinding flash, and afterward, the three have become one. A BIG one. The newly formed robot is easily twice the size of the biggest of the three, its blocky head lighting up from within, the two great green optics focusing on Becky as the machine takes a menacing step forward.

"Ah, crap," she mutters, back peddling away from the super robot.

"Can she take that thing?" Milenna asks the girls creator.

"I honestly don't know. That _is_ why we are here after all," she returns with a lop-sided smile.

"Try this on for size!" Becky yells, her arms extending, and wiping around into a twirl that creates a horizontal tornado that smashes the larger machine back a few staggering steps, before it begins to advance on her again.

The larger mech unleashes blasts from the largest of its component mechs weapons, the explosions disrupting Becky's vortex.

"Stubborn bastard," she growls, as she dives out of the way of a few follow up blasts.

The machine attempts to stomp on her, but she escapes by transforming her legs into tank treads once more.

Standing up a safe distance away, she snarls, "Getter Missile Storm!" unleashing missiles from her shoulder launchers, as well as those concealed in her legs.

This time when the smoke clears, the three machines are separated once more, and laying in a sparking pile.

"Not too shabby. I wish I could see the look on the girls' faces when you drop that little surprise on them," Katsura smirks, as she turns to her mother and Milenna.

"I'm saving that one for when they get too full of themselves. I also have a stronger version programmed in for the likes of our resident powerhouses," Milenna answers her.

"I'm quite pleased with Becky's performance. And since it appears that Ryta didn't damage herself with that "over charge" stunt, she didn't do too badly either. All that is left is our little speed demon," Dr. Tokai says, as they watch Hanna trade places with Becky while the arena repairs itself.

"You're up, speedy. Give 'em hell," Becky smiles as she walks past her smaller sister.

"I think I can safely say they won't know what hit them," Hanna returns with a small grin, taking her place to await her turn.

She doesn't need to wait for long, as once more, the dark suits that Ryta faced begin to form around her.

She counts a dozen before the command to begin comes from above.

She then simply turns around, and walk away from them, as they begin to de-rezz.

"What's going on? Is there a malfunction?" Milenna demands, of the tech, as she moves from the window to the control consol.

"No ma'am," he answers in a shaky voice, clearly shocked at what the screens are telling him.

"Please explain to her what just happened," Dr. Tokai smirks, while turning back to the window to see Hanna standing there with her arms crossed, looking up at the window. Her pose clearly asking, "Well? What's next?"

"According to this," the tech begins, "all the sim 'bots registered critical damage nearly simultaneously. There is a half second variation in the time stamps from the time the first recorded itself "dead" to the time the last did."

"That's crazy! I don't even think that mothra girl that did the time travel with her sister can move that quickly and precisely," Milenna blurts out.

"I'm running the playback as slowly as I can ma'am, see for yourself," he tells her, sliding away from the console to allow for them to get a better view of Hanna, more of a blur, even at this slow of a playback, dash from mech to mech, delivering crippling shots to control hubs, or just ripping heads off.

"Even I'm impressed, and I knew what to expect. Can we actually challenge her with this equipment?" Dr. Tokai adds, aiming the last at Milenna.

"Give me a few moments to make some adjustments, and then you can try her again," Milenna growls, clearly irritated that her system was so easily upstaged.

"Hanna? It's going to take us a couple of minutes to adjust things up here, so just hang loose for a few," Katsura calls down to her, while her sisters give her thumbs up's and cheers from the sidelines.

True to Katsura's words, moments later the next batch of holo-targets begin to form. This time though there are more of them, more than a hundred.

"This should be interesting," Hanna mutters, as she holds her arms out away from her body. There is a small flash from both, and her normal human scale hands and forearms have been replaced. A huge bladed drill now rests at the end of her left arm, and a large three tined power claw rests at the end of her right.

"She's obviously taking this threat seriously," Dr. Tokai mutters, watching Hanna bring out her big guns.

"She better. I don't think that they can _match_ her insane speed, but between their numbers, and the upgrade I just gave them, they will be able to compete with her," Milenna adds.

"Let's find out. Send them in," Dr. Tokai orders.

Hanna is actually slightly surprised at the new speed displayed by the sim mechs as they rush her. While true to Milenna's predictions, they can't match her speed, they still manage to score hits against her. As she engages three in front of her, another from farther back in the horde will open fire, delivering several stinging hits. When she turns to deal with that threat, another will take the opportunity to deliver a punishing blow, knocking her sideways, or to her knees.

"This is getting ugly. Did you over estimate her capabilities?" Katsura asks, as they watch Hanna go under a swarm of mechs that reminds her of Dizzys' favorite attack style.

"I don't think so," she answers, as several of the mechs are suddenly, and brutally, hurled away.

"Hehe," Hanna giggles, as her processors kick into over drive. While she can't move any faster, her targeting and tracking capabilities increase to the point that she has each and every thing in the arena tagged and locked in on her tracking system, including projectiles. With a manic grin, she starts tearing into the horde, ducking and weaving around and between their attacks. In moments, she has reduced them to less than a dozen. Knocking the last of them skyward, she follows it, and slams it through the observation window, and into the control room.

"What is she doing?" Katsura demands, not liking that things are flying toward the observation window. Her suspicion is rewarded with her taking most of the shattered bullet and beam proof glass, before being slammed into the floor by the weight of the sim mech.

Hanna's grin remains wide, as she catalogs the latest bunch of targets. With another little giggle, she grabs Dr. Tokai in her power claw, and prepares to rip her apart with the drill.

At least until a pair of rainbow hued energy beams slam into her back, making her drop the Doctor.

When she turns around, she finds the rest of the occupants of the control room trying to get out of the way, and an extremely pissed off mecha godzilla morph with heat rising from her optics.

"Get the hell away from her, you nutcase," Katsura snarls, bringing her hands, and all of her ballistic arsenal up into firing position.

Hanna's grin gets wider as she blitz's Katsura, sending the pair of them flying out of the smashed window, and back into the arena.

"Quickly! Give her the strongest things the sim can generate! Katsura isn't a match for her!" Dr. Tokai orders, snapping the others out of their shocked stillness.

"On it!" Milenna answers, hopping into the chair, and putting some of the meanest things the sims have into the field to help Katsura.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Katsura demands, as Milenna's handy work begins to form around the pair. "You were going to _kill our mother!_"

Hanna's only answer is another little giggle as she suddenly clamps Katsura in her claw, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Cute, but I'm not as defenseless as she was!" Katsura snarls, unleashing her optic beams, and the flame blast from her mouth, directly into Hanna's helmeted face.

The backup finally starts to respond, when Becky and Ryta get involved. One of the hulking machines slams Hanna with its sword, hitting her in the drill arm, and knocking Katsura out of her grip as she was sent flying.

Becky catches her, and proceeds to use her arms to effectively tie her up, while Ryta wrenches her helm off and gets her first good look at her disturbed face.

"Snap out of it!" Ryta snarls, delivering a solid shot to Hanna's jaw.

The blow rocks her hard enough that even Becky has to struggle to keep a hold of her.

Hanna shakes her head a couple of times, before glaring at her sister and demanding," What was that for? And why are you holding me like this?"

"Doctor? I believe the attack is over, and she has reverted to normal," Ryta calls up toward the control room.

"It better be, or else I'm going to dump enough explosives in her to launch her ass to the moon," Katsura snarls, pointing her entire arsenal at her.

"The testing is over, so bring her up here," Milenna calls back down.

"What hit this place?" Hanna asks, when she gets a look at the control room.

"You did," Dr. Tokai answers her, bandages on both arms from where Hanna's power claw had cut her skin.

"But… I don't remember any of it! The last thing I remember before Ryta slugged me was going under that pile of black mechs," Hanna returns.

"You tore through those like a chainsaw, and booted the last of them through the window. Then you followed it, and seemed intent to continue your little rampage on _us_. Katsura stopped you before you could cause any serious damage to Dr. Tokai, and the pair of you went back out the window. I called up some bigger things to help keep you occupied, and then your sisters stepped in," Milenna informs her, getting nods from all around when Hanna looks to them for conformation.

"Speaking of whom, how is your damage?" Dr. Tokai asks Katsura.

"Let's just say I know how you feel. She crumpled armor on both arms, and I've got some nasty gouges on my back, but I'll live," she returns with a smirk, getting an answering expression from her mother.

"I've…got armor reduced by thirty percent on my back, front torso armor is…charred? What did you guys hit me with?" Hanna adds, checking her read outs, and inspecting herself.

"Be thankful you had this on, or else you'd be bald too," Ryta smirks, tossing her sister her helm.

"What hit me?" Hanna asks, turning the formerly silver, now black helm over in her hands.

"You had my arms pinned, so I had to use what few weapons I had access to," Katsura tells her. "Including my flame thrower."

"But for now, we are going to be returning to the base," Dr. Tokai tells them. Ryta, Becky, you're cleared for duty. Hanna, do to this….episode, we're going to have to do some more work with you to find out what happened, and _why_."

"Yes ma'am," Hanna answers, hanging her head as she struggles to recall what went on with her after her blackout started.

"Power down sis, and we'll get you packed up," Becky gently tells her sister, as Ryta looks on.

"All right," she whispers, shutting herself down, and trusting to her larger sister to catch her.

"Think you can fix what's gone wrong with her?" Ryta asks.

"I hope so," Dr. Tokai answers, looking on as Becky places Hanna back into the travel coffin, and seals her in.

"You're sure about this? No chance it could be a set up?" Col. Hicks demands over the radio as John fills him in on the Heat Seekers' current mission.

"No chance. It's his ass on the line. He wouldn't have risked everything to get the word out, if it wasn't on the level," John answers.

"We're currently enroute to NMI, to raise the alarm. We'll keep you posted," Nick adds.

"You do that worm guy. Let's hope that this is a false alarm. If that info is on the level, then the world hasn't seen anything like this since the old days when Japan was constantly being attacked by robotic monsters and crap," Hicks mutters, as he cuts the connection.

"Sadly, I am forced to agree with John. There is little chance of an agent of this caliber risking everything on a false alarm," Monique says from her place at the conference room table.

"Well, if spy chika says we take it seriously, then it's got my vote," Randy adds, smirking at Monique as he punches keys on his laptop.

"At least as much as you can take anything seriously," Dr. Medal Craven mutters under his breath. "When do we arrive?" he asks.

"I could get there faster alone, but it will take the 'Seeker another day to make the trip," Ginoa answers over the intercom, listening in from the bridge where she is making sure they stay on course.

"Do we risk a transmission? Or do we just sit on this until we can contact the others?" Elsie Chapmen asks, knowing that someone has to ask it.

"John? You're the military guy here, what's your call?" Nick asks.

"Personally I think we need to get the word out as soon as we can. But we aren't set up with the kind of stuff that we would need to keep them from picking it up and tipping them off that they've been rated out," John answers.

"Agreed. I think that we should give Ginoa everything we have, and send her on ahead," Monique adds, sparing a small smile for John at his wisdom.

"Alright, you guys get everything together for her, and I'll go take over the helm," Nick tells them, before getting up and leaving.

"And that class is why…" Milenna trails off as an alarm from her computer interrupts her lecture. Opening the window related to the flashing icon on her screen, she is rewarded with an image resembling an old style radar display, with a clearly fast moving object heading for the island, below sea level. "Something has just come up. I expect you all to read the next two chapters, because you _will_ be quizzed on them on Monday. Dismissed," she tells them before grabbing the computer, and dashing from the room to the sounds of cheers as her students escape the school an hour early, and _without_ having to endure one of her lectures.

"Sir! We have a large fast moving object approaching the island!" an aid blurts out as she bursts into the generals office.

"And why are you so worked up about it? What makes you so sure it's a danger?" General Takahara asks, maintaining his calm.

"Sir, it is 200 meters below sea level, and moving faster than an American sub!" the aid returns.

"Hmmm….That does sound like something to be concerned about. Very well, let's get to the command center. And put in a call, I want our mech pilots on standby, in case they are needed," he orders, as he and the aid leave.

"Why did _we_ have to come out here and wait for whatever it is to show up?" Kaze demands.

"Because we can fly faster than the MG girls, and us being here means that they can help get the big stuff ready if we need it," Zoe returns.

"Still seems like a waste of time to me," Kaze mutters, folding her arms across her belly, and leaning back against the wall of a warehouse as they wait at the projected landing site of whatever it is that Milenna picked up on her scanner.

"Well, it's about to get interesting," Zoe tells her as her systems count down the final few minutes to landfall.

"What the hell is _that_?" Kaze demands, pointing at rolling swell that is growing into a huge wake, heading directly for them.

"That would be the reason we are out here standing around," Zoe replies dryly, while opening a data feed to the SDF teams.

"Okay, I'll quit complaining," Kaze returns, her voice gone quiet as they watch two huge fins emerge on the leading edges of the wake.

"_That looks like…_" Zoe thinks to herself, as the wake veers slightly to the side to miss the docks themselves.

"Zoe…..It's coming right at us…." Kaze says, not sure she wants to go toe to toe with a giant monster without the benefit of the MazinKaiser to even the odds.

Before Zoe can respond, the harbor erupts, and the huge scaly form of the American Godzilla lands next to the warehouse and regards the pair with a snort, before gently setting down a bright yellow object.

Zoe doesn't relax until the beast begins to transform. She sends the "all clear" while Ginoa pulls some clothes from a air tight bag that had been strapped to N.I.G.E.L.

"Think you two could give me a lift? I need to get the tinker toy to someone in authority quick," Ginoa tells them, still panting from swimming full out for so long.

"What's so important that you had to risk terrifying everyone by showing up in monster form?" Zoe asks.

"Sorry, thought you might like the details on the planned attack by the Red Bamboo Army," Ginoa shoots back.

"Yeah, that's a good reason," Kaze adds, as she hefts N.I.G.E.L. up on to her shoulder.

"Leave the flying to us, and hang on," Zoe tells Ginoa as she scoops her up.

In moments the trio is airborne and on their way to the SDF base.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Ebi asks, as she walks up to Connie as the school empties out for the weekend.

Connie looks over her feathered shoulder as if afraid of being watched, before saying, "Someone has asked me to set up a meeting between you and them. They have something important they want to talk to you about."

"Why all the mystery?" the lobster girl asks, cocking her head.

"Probably doesn't want to have to deal with Dizzy," Connie returns.

"Alright. When and where?" the blond asks, understanding that most of the people in town are afraid of getting on the Destoroyah-morphs bad side.

"Here. Make sure you follow the directions _exactly_. It's important," Connie tells her, handing over an envelope. Before Ebi can say anything else, Connie spreads her wings, and leaps into the air, heading into town.

"I wonder what her problem is?" Ebi mutters as she heads toward her dorm to stow her books for the weekend.

"Well, I've got to give her credit. She's come a long way in the planning department from the old days," Zoe grudgingly admits as she looks over the data that was retrieved from N.I.G.A.L.

"Too bad she's using it against us," the General agrees. Looking toward the head of the teams working on the Atragon, he asks, "Is it ready to fly? Or can it be made ready to fly to match up with this timetable?"

"I believe so. The ship itself is complete, but we are still testing its systems. At this point, we don't know if firing the engines will cause the armor to shake off or not," Professor Yumi returns.

"Yeah, that would be a bad thing," Zoe smirks, getting chuckles from the others gathered for the meeting.

"We have another problem," Mandy announces as she enters the conference room.

"What now?" Katsura demands.

"One of the R.B.A. operatives currently on the island, is actively trying to recruit K-girls to their cause," she answers.

"Do we have an I.D. on him?" Zoe asks.

"Yes we do. But that isn't the problem that I was referring to," Mandy returns, taking a seat.

"You're not worried about this? Then what could be the problem that actually has you worried?" the General asks in surprise.

"The agent in question is actually on our side, and is in fact the one who originally sent the data to us via H.E.A.T." she answers. "He wants to use this as an opportunity to escape back to our side without giving himself away."

"How did you find out about all this?" General Takahara demands.

"He is following his current orders from Red Geisha. But rather than simply give his first contact a list of instructions, he gave her a flash drive. In addition to the mission he gave her, he also added duplicates of what you just received from the currier, and a plan to set up an ambush for himself that will effectively have him arrested and placed in a "secure location" before the shit hits the fan," Mandy explains.

"And are you asking us for permission to follow through with this plan?" the General asks.

"Not really, I simply wanted to ask Zoe if I could borrow some additional backup for the team," Mandy smirks. "We want it to look believable after all."

"I take it you want Kaze?" Zoe grins.

"No," Mandy returns, surprising her. "The person who is the primary for this doesn't respect Kaze, so she won't listen to her at all. And Kaze isn't the most patient person in Kagiju anyway, so she's not really suited to sneaky stuff."

"I'm afraid you can't have any of the pilots from the mecha team," General Takahara tells her. "We need them to be ready to go at a moment's notice, now that we have this information, we can't afford for the R.B.A. to start things off ahead of schedule."

"That's fine," Mandy agrees.

"Well, since you weren't referring to Maizy, I guess you'll need to ask Jura for yourself. But what makes you think that Dizzy will listen to her?" Zoe answers.

"Apparently she seems to have put her into the same class of threat as Crystal. That and the fact that everyone knows what she can do tends to make her worth listening to," Mandy smiles, referring to Jura's least used power.

"Gee, I can't imagine why that would be," Zoe grins.

"What is so funny?" Ginoa asks, not able to follow the rapid Japanese the others are using.

"I'll fill you in later monster girl," Zoe tells her in English, adding a wink.

"Looks like this is the place…" Ebi mutters to herself as she catches sight of Connie's orange feathers near the door to one of the more run down warehouses near the docks.

"You followed the instructions to the letter?" the avian girl asks as Ebi steps into view.

"Yes. Are you sure this is a good idea?" the lobster girl asks, as the pair open the door enough for their entrance to the building.

"No, but I don't have a hell of a lot of choice in the matter," Connie tells her, gesturing for her to go first.

Ebi is about to insist that the bird girl go first, when a noise from a pile of trash grabs her attention. When she looks, all she sees is a quick flash of purple, pink, and blond, but it's enough to re-assure her that it's safe. Taking a deep breath, she enters the building, Connie right behind her.

"Jeez, I hate being down here. Are they inside yet?" Jura asks, as she watches filthy water flow past her legs, and the funk of the sewer assaults her nose.

"They just went in," Dizzy tells her, her eyes closed, and focusing on what her various mini's can see from their places around the area.

"And the other guy?" Jura asks, moving toward the ladder that leads to a manhole near the back corner of the warehouse.

"Nothing yet…..wait…a little box truck just pulled into the loading dock….." Dizzy tells her, before her eyes snap open and she gives Jura a look of fear. The back is full of guys with guns. There are at least twenty of them, and I'm willing to bet Giganna that everything they have is a fully automatic."

"Alright, did you see anything to imply that the extras are Red Bamboo?" Jura asks, thinking furiously, wondering how Zoe would handle this wrinkle in the plan.

"Lemme see," Dizzy mutters, having trouble focusing as she worries about Ebi. "I don't see anything in common on them. Some of them are dressed better than others, but nothing that screams out loud as to who they really are."

"Okay. Sounds like he picked up some cannon fodder to make this look more real. If I was a human, I wouldn't try to do anything involving a k-girl without a small army either. Even if the ones in question are some of the weaker ones," Jura says, thinking out loud.

"She isn't weak," Dizzy snarls at her.

"I didn't say she was," Jura try's to calm her. "Just that she's not as powerful as you are is all."

"Just so we're clear on that," Dizzy tells her as she crab walks toward Jura and the ladder.

"It's going to take a week long shower to get the stink of this place off of me," Jura mutters as they climb up.

"_How did I end up in charge of this anyway?"_ Jura thinks to herself as she finds a place for herself to hide, while Dizzy orders her swarm to find places of concealment as well.

"You want me to what?" Jura yelps.

"I want you to assist Dizzy in capturing a terrorist who is actually a secret agent who is looking for a way out of the organization that doesn't involve him being put into a body bag at the end of it," Mandy calmly tells her again.

"Why me? Don't you have any of the other girls who are more suited to this kind of thing?" Jura asks.

"Can you name me another girl who's power Dizzy will respect, AND is willing to do as I ask?" Mandy shoots back, one eyebrow rising in challenge.

"But I'm not really suited to this kind of thing," Jura whines.

"Zoe says you don't give yourself enough credit. She's also informed me that you have read "Art of War" cover to cover, and I've seen firsthand that your memory is quite impressive, so I know that you are retaining most of that with little difficulty. Zoe says that Kaze has been training you in the use of a sword, and that while you are not up to Zoe's level you are quite competent with it. Added to all this, you are a Godzilla-morph. Out of everyone who is going to be involved, you are going to be the biggest gun on the field," Mandy shoots back without giving Jura a chance to counter any of her comments. "And lastly, you still have a certain ace you can play, if everything goes to hell on you."

"Alright, that all makes logical sense," Jura admits, still not happy. "But what about the fact that I don't like to fight?"

"You are always more than willing to fight to protect others," Mandy smirks at her. "And while Dizzy maybe a powerhouse in her own right, neither Ebi nor Connie can make that claim."

"So they are the bait?" Jura asks, even more unhappy about this than before.

"Somewhat. This is a touchy situation. The people behind that attack on the kids, and the mess down at the docks are gearing up for another shot at us," Mandy admits, not letting anything of detail slip.

"No kidding. Like I hadn't figured out why Kaze and the others have been spending so much time at the S.D.F. base," Jura shoots back rolling her eyes. "I may be quiet, but I'm not stupid."

"Point. I momentarily forgot that you live with the Mazingers," Mandy smiles. "But that is also part of the reason we need to get this guy out. And to make things more difficult, he is going to remain in "terrorist mode" until he's been subdued, just in case he's being spied on by his own people."

"So we not only have to take him down as hard as we would anyone else who would try something like this, I also have to keep Dizzy from ripping him apart afterward for trying to pull something that involves Ebi," Jura mutters, ticking off points on her fingers.

"You can always say no. This is a request, not an order," Mandy reminds her.

"Yeah, it's an offer I can't refuse," Jura smirks back at her. "After you've told me all this, NOW you offer me the option of walking away, Knowing full well that I would never forgive myself if something went wrong because I wasn't there. Thanks a lot teach."

"I knew I picked the right girl for the job," Mandy grins at her, before giving her every bit of info she has about where the meeting is to take place, and the conditions covered in the instructions.

"Ready?" Jura whispers into the tiny headset radio that she is wearing.

"Just give the signal, and I'll swarm them," Dizzy tells her, her normally boisterous personality subdued by the danger they are all facing.

"When the P.A. sounds off, hit them. Remember, disable weapons first, people second," Jura tells her, preparing to flip the intercom system on from her hiding place and give the signal when the time is right.

"Spread out and take your positions. I'm already late for this meeting because of waiting on you guys," Sam growls as the security team from the R.B.A. unloads themselves from the back of the truck.

"My apologies, but several of my team where delayed by customs. Since we didn't wish to draw additional attention, we were forced to wait for them to get cleared before setting out," the security team leader tells him, drawing a strange looking handgun from under his suit jacket.

"Keep the advanced stuff out of sight. We don't want to tip our hand if something goes wrong," Sam tells him, handing over a dart pistol. "These have enough horse tranquilizers in each dart to take down all but the Ghidorah or Godzilla based k-girls," he says.

"Unconscious subjects are so much simpler to transport," the team leader smirks.

"Everyone in position?" Sam demands into the mic of an earpiece style communicator.

A chorus of answers returns to him through the earpiece, as he jerks his head toward the main room, indicating that the team leader should accompany him.

"For someone who insists on having his directions followed to the letter, he sure is lax about following his own timetable," Connie complains as she and Ebi stand next to each other, with a row of large waist height boxes between them and the approaching R.B.A. members.

"Sorry to keep you ladies waiting, but my friend here was delayed at the airport," Sam announces as he and the team leader approach.

"Your set up didn't include anything about additional people," Connie accuses.

"True, but you can hardly blame me for having backup handy can you? I'm just a lowly human, either of you girls could break me in half without trying hard," Sam smirks back.

"This is the guy you said wanted to talk to me?" Ebi asks Connie.

"Yes I am. Why don't we all go for a little ride, and I'll explain the offer I have been ordered to extend to you," Sam answers, before Connie can say anything.

"I don't think so. Make your offer here and we can get it out of the way," Ebi shoots back.

"Think there will be any trouble from them?" one of the extra men asks his companion, as the pair guard the way back toward the loading dock, and the transport.

"Do you really think that a pair of genetic freaks from this backwater planet will be able to stand against us? This is nothing more than a make work detail, and you know it," his partner answers, using it as an excuse to practice his Japanese.

"Don't be so sure. I lost a few uncles to this "backwater planet" back when the monsters where active. I think that these "genetic freaks" as you call them could be a lot more trouble than you're giving them credit for," the first replies.

"Whatever. The missions from back then where geared toward killing Gojira, not kidnapping and brainwashing. Since we don't have to face off against the big ones, this should be a walk in the park," the second replies. "Plus the odds are ten to one in our favor, and neither of the targets have any ranged attack powers. They are out gunned, and outnumbered."

"I hope you're right," the first answers, right before the roar of Godzilla rings through the entire warehouse, coming from seemingly everywhere.

"What is the reason for that bloody alarm?" Geisha bellows as she storms into her command center.

"We've received reports of a strange mech on the loose in the lowest levels of the base!" one of the techs answers, working his control board franticly trying to get more data.

"Three security teams have already been taken out," another adds. "Or at least they no longer respond to their coms."

Geisha snarls in anger, and spins on her heel, ordering, "I want two security teams down there by the time I get there. I'm going to settle this _personally._"

"You called, Mistress?" Ezra hisses as she joins Geisha at the location that the security teams were supposed to be.

"Yes. We have a rouge loose within the base, and it seems to delight in eradicating my security teams. I want you to find it for me," Geisha informs her. "Once you locate it, call me. Then you may deal with it as you see fit."

"Yes Mistress," the alien dragon girl grins, before dropping to her belly to inspect the remains of the security personnel.

"And so I let slip my dog of war," Geisha smiles to herself as she watches Ezra take off, tracking whatever is tearing up her base.

"What the fuck?" Sam yells when the P.A. unloads Jura's roar throughout the entire warehouse.

And that is the last coherent thing heard in the main section of the warehouse as it is suddenly raining Dizzlets.

Choruses of screams as the support team is bitten by tiny fangs, or stabbed by insect like legs compete with the sound of micro oxygen blasts that dissolve the molecular bonds of the metal of their weapons.

"They set us up! Fall Back! Scatter and meet up at the rendezvous point!" Sam orders, causing most of the group to kick or bat the Dizzlets off of them before they turn to run.

"You wouldn't be thinking of leaving us so soon, now would you?" Dizzy snarls, as she lands atop one of the crates, smashing it into kindling.

"Destoroyah…." The team leader murmurs in dread, as she rises from the raised dust cloud, her horn glowing in preparation for her beam katana.

"She's right. You really should stick around," Jura smirks as Sam spins around to find her saber centimeters from his neck.

"Is it safe yet?" Connie calls from behind the crate, drawing everyone's attention momentarily.

The team leader takes the opportunity to shove Sam to the side, and shoot Jura.

Jura snarls in anger as she brings her saber around to slice off the team leaders arm.

As he drops to his knees in pain, he snarls, "You may have thwarted this operation, but you have no hope of stopping the Red Bamboo!"

Then he makes an exaggerated biting motion, and his body shimmers for an instant before bursting into flames.

"So much for taking him alive," Dizzy smirks, before waving her hand in front of her face in an attempt to clear the stench of roasted terrorist from her nose.

"We have a bigger problem," Jura tells her.

"And what would that be? The bait is safe," then she jerks her thumb at Sam, were he is surrounded by her swarm," and he's in custody, so it sounds like a win."

"Except for this," Jura says as she flips the severed arm around so that the others can see that the human hand is human no longer.

Protruding from the sleeve is a shaggy, black furred arm, with the hand being covered in mottled green flesh, and claws tipping the fingers.

"Ewe ," is all Ebi has to add.

"What are you two up to down here?" Kaze demands, after investigating why the door to the hidden construction lab is opened again.

"Ask her, I'm just the mad scientists assistant," Kiryuu answers, from where she is overlooking the body under construction on the table.

"Zoe?" Kaze demands, knowing how much trouble this room has caused her family in the past, since she was born here.

"I'm getting a slight upgrade," Zoe tells her. "Maizy isn't home, is she?" she asks worriedly afterward.

"No, she was planning to hang with Immomu and Nuri for the afternoon, and then have a sleep over at the mothra house," Kaze answers. "I Okayed it, since you have been spending so much time at the S.D.F. base lately."

"Good, and thank you," Zoe sighs in relief.

"Now, would you care to explain why it is that you are doing the exact same thing that you busted Maizy's chops for?" Kaze demands.

"It's not exactly the same thing, and it is going to serve a dual purpose," Zoe answers her. "Come over here, and I'll show you."

"This better be good, or else I will tell her, and you can try to justify your way out of _that_ storm of righteous indignation," Kaze warns her.

"I'm only improving my toughness, not any weapons or other capabilities," Zoe informs her, pointing at the schematic on the screen.

"Then why even bother? Added armor is just going to…." Kaze trails off as she spots something that she knows full well shouldn't be a part of this, since it wasn't developed until well after Zoe was brought on line and sent off to war.

"That's the reason for a whole new body," Zoe confirms. "You can shrug off a hell of a lot of abuse, even if you are still subject to the laws of physics. We've since discovered that using Z alpha is going to slightly increase my powers, but not enough to do this if I just wanted stronger weapons."

"What are you going to do with your old one? Kaze asks, figuring that the only reason that Zoe is even doing _this_ is so she can have a rematch with Red Geisha.

"Actually, I want to ask you for some help in that regard," Zoe returns with a pleasant smile as they watch the robotic assembler arms weave back and forth over the body, occasionally dropping below the table to draw a newly fabricated part from the mouth of the forge/fabricator machine.

"What? You want me to get rid of the evidence?" Kaze asks in surprise.

"No, I want you to help me convert it," Zoe returns, moving to another console, and calling up something else.

"That's…." Kaze whispers, when she sees what is there.

"Yes, it is," Zoe confirms. "That is Ryoko. And this is Mazinger Z," she adds, splitting the screen, before combining the two images into one familiar little cyber doll. "Since so much of her original systems where thrashed by Geisha, and her current body is so cobbled together, I want to give her a new one, with all of her old capabilities restored to her. We can't do it to her current one, since everything in her is a prototype. Plus, I want give her the gift of being able to "grow up" like her friends. When Immomu and Nuri transform, Maizy is going to as well, if you are willing to help me with this."

"You know that I would do anything for that little brat," Kaze returns, her tone taking any possible sting from the comment.

"Then keep this quiet. Don't even tell Jura, if you don't have to. I'm planning to make some modifications to this body, before we are ready for her to take possession. But first I want to test drive it on my new one to make sure that it will be safe for her," Zoe tells her.

"Like what?" Kaze asks, as Zoe leads her back to the table.

"The fire blaster, for one," Zoe answers. "Currently, it is tied into the same piece of equipment as the boomerang. So if I use the boomerang, and something prevents it from coming back, I'm out my biggest gun."

"Yeah, Maizy and I don't have that problem, since ours don't come off," Kaze agrees.

"But yours _do _come off," Kiryuu adds from the other side of the table. "When you take off your armor, and Maizy isn't wearing the Z outfit, neither of you have your fire blasters."

"True, when I take off the armor, I lose most of my weapons though. All I have left are the photon beams, the vortex generator, an un-augmented rocket punch, and my flight pack. Unlike you and Maizy, my "horns" are part of my helm, so that takes away the ice blast, and my swords are hidden in the armor itself. I'm not even sure if I _can_ activate my power booster without my armor," Kaze responds, her tone thoughtful as she really thinks about the things she has been taking for granted since she came on line.

"That's another thing that I am planning to change as well," Zoe adds, reaching out to smooth a strand of hair back behind Kaze's fully human shaped ear. "When this is done, we will _all_ be able to pass for human without our battle suits."

"You will still have silver skin," Kaze reminds her with a smirk. "Not to mention our glowing golden eyes."

"Already thought of that," Zoe smirks back. "When Darcy gave me my "costume change" choker, she gave me another little toy to try out."

Without another word, Zoe pulls off her glove, and pulls a simple silver ring from a hidden compartment in her hip. As soon as she places it on her finger, flesh tone races across her exposed skin, making her lips a luscious red, and changing her eyes to a piercing blue that looks striking when combined with her silver/blond hair.

"I've been saving them for a special occasion, since I have one for both you and Maizy as well," Zoe grins at the looks of shock on both her sister, and her lovers' faces.

"Consider it payment for keeping quiet," Kaze smirks, holding her hand out.

"Done. Once I'm out of this one, I want you to use your "make up kit" to change the hair for me. It will be a lot faster to have you do it that way, than it will be to strip the head down and start over," Zoe tells her, dropping the ring into her hand.

"Jura's going to freak over this one," Kaze grins, watching the color spread across her arm after she places the ring on her finger. What color did my eyes end up being?" she asks once she is sure that the changing effect is done.

"The deepest green I have ever seen," Kiryuu answers.

"Great!" Kaze nearly cheers, her happiness being almost infectious. Getting herself under control, she asks," How much longer is this going to take?"

Zoe turns back to the displays, and thinks for a moment before answering, "The main construction will be done in a few more hours. Then comes the part I'm not looking forward to. Going off line so that you and Kiryuu can move my mind and weapons into the new frame."

"Alright, I'll be back in about a half hour or so," Kaze returns, taping her chocker and changing to her armor. "If you are so set on doing this, then I think we should have someone better suited to helping with the fine tuning then my fumble fingers are."

"Who did you have in mind?" Zoe and Kiryuu both demand in stereo.

"You'll see," Kaze smirks, before turning her back on them and leaving the hidden lab.

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?" Zoe asks while looking at the ceiling.

"Relax. You know full well that she has your best interest in mind here. Has she ever given you a reason to doubt her sincerity?" Kiryuu returns, moving around the table to give Zoe a hug.

"Never," Zoe returns, leaning into the hug. "But you know what they say about good intentions….."

"Target Located," Ezra grins, activating a locator device before leaping at the blood soaked form that has been so effective at destroying Red Geisha's organic security teams.

"Now you _DIE!"_

"Ma'am! Ezra has just activated her locator!" one of the security techs tells Geisha.

"Give me five minutes, then order Cyra and Spyra to meet me at that point," Geisha returns, already on her way out of the chamber.

The shadow warrior spins at Ezra's battle shriek, Bringing up his great blade to bat her to the side.

"Ah, something a bit more challenging than this rabble that I have been exterminating. Before you die, tell me how it is that you have come to be within my headquarters?" he says to her, as he prepares to kill her.

"Burn in hell," is Ezra's sole response as she bounces back to her feet, and bathes him in flaming dragon breath.

She is totally un-prepared for his mocking laughter from within the inferno.

"Finally, an opponent amongst these invaders who is worthy of my attentions!" he laughs as she swings his sword, blowing out the flames. "Now my demonic friend, it is time for _you_ to burn, in the Breath of the Inferno!" he cries as a torrent of flame erupts from his own mouth, bathing Ezra in much the same way she had him.

"Toasty," Ezra grins, as she spreads her wings and flaps them, blowing the flames back toward her opponent. "Try this on for size!" she snarls, as glowing disks of energy appear in her claws, before she flings them at him.

"Impressive. You prove more worthy of my attention by the moment," he shoots back, blocking the disks with his sword, but being forced to take a step back from the force of their detonations. "But I tire of this game, and I still need to finish removing the vermin from my fortress," he adds, before red lightning erupts from the horns of his helm, and catch Ezra in mid pounce. Adding insult to injury, he unleashes black energy beams from his eyes, smashing Ezra into the far wall, where she slowly slides to the floor.

He has already turned to leave, when Ezra opens her eyes. "I'm not done yet," she whispers, before unleashing her own eye beams at his back.

The impact staggers him forward, and brings him around to glare at her with a snarl of rage. "This time I shall make sure you are dead!" he roars, rushing forward and bringing his blade up over his head for a blow that will split Ezra in half.

The blow is caught, a few centimeters short of Ezra's skull.

"I would really rather that you didn't destroy one of my most loyal minions. Fighters like her are hard to come by," Geisha smirks at the look of surprised outrage on the warriors face at her interruption, as she forces him back and interposes herself, and her energy blade, between him and her downed pet.

"Interesting. It would seem that the science of robotics has come far in my absence. I look forward to dissecting your remains and using your technologies for my own ends," he growls, before unleashing his eyebeams at her.

"Photon Beams!" she calls, countering his energy blast with her own.

"You posses Photon Technology! Spawn of a Mazinger!" he snarls in rage as he charges her, clearly intent on destroying her utterly. "Me? A Mazinger? Hardly," she laughs, as she proceeds to avoid his charge by taking to the air. "I stole some of their weapons, and incorporated them into my own body. But don't just take my word for it, see for yourself," She grins as she holds one hand up toward the far over head lights. "Thunder Break!" she calls, power arcing from electrical conduits to her upraised hand, before she redirects it at him.

"So it is the Great Mazingers spawn I face. Very well, I shall meet you blow for blow! Crimson Lightning!" he calls directing his red lighting against hers in a massive explosion of power.

"Owe. That could have gone better," Geisha mutters as she picks herself up off the floor from where the explosion had hurled her.

"You have fought well, but it is time for you to meet your fate at my hands," the warrior growls, he cape flapping behind him as he quickly strides across the distance separating them.

"Who say's I'm done fighting?" Geisha shoots back, before unleashing her gatling blaster at him.

"You dare continue to get in my way? I am the Dark Overlord of Hell! This is my fortress, and I refuse to tolerate vermin underfoot while I plan for the ultimate destruction of the Photon Power Laboratory and its guardians, the Mazingers!" he snarls while weaving a web of steel with his swings that manages to deflect or outright block geisha's fire.

"Dr. Hell? He died years ago. You can't be him," Geisha states flatly, after the shock of his words wears off.

"I crafted for myself this far more powerful body, but something went wrong before I could reawaken. I sense that much time has passed, and I find you and your fellow vermin infesting my fortress," he returns, as the pair warily circles one another.

"I'll say something went wrong," Geisha smirks. "Mazinger Z found your island, and sank the damn thing, killing you in the process!"

"Then it is time that they discovered my resurrection, and trembled in fear once more!" he roars.

Geisha, while remaining on guard, relaxes from her fighting stance. "I really wish you had bothered to talk to the security teams, rather than just destroying them. It would have saved so much trouble," she mutters, but loud enough for him to hear.

"What are you babbling about now, Mazinger Spawn?" he demands.

"I am the leader of the Red Bamboo Army. My _name_ is Red Geisha. And I am _NOT_ the spawn of a Mazinger," she snarls in anger. "We discovered the remains of Dr. Hell's fortress on the ocean floor, and repaired it for our own use. We too, plan to conquer this world, and standing against us are also defenders of considerable power. They are the _True_ Spawn of the Mazingers, even having been created in their image!"

"Prove this to me, or die where you stand," the Overlord demands.

"Cyra, Spyra!" Geisha calls.

"Yes Mistress?" they answer, Cyra stepping around the corner, while Spyra simply emerges from the shadows.

"Clear the corridors between here and the briefing room. I will escort our esteemed guest there in a few moments so that I may prove the veracity of my claims. Oh, and take Ezra to the med lab. I want her healed in time for the attack." Geisha orders.

"As you wish," they answer, with Cyra jetting off toward the conference room, while Spyra moves over to the space dragon girl and hefts her off the floor.

"So these are the defenders who thwarted you, eh? They look like rabble to me," the Overlord comments as he watches footage of Geisha's last assault on NMI.

"These are the three responsible for that loss," Geisha counters, pulling up the footage of Zoe, Kaze, and Jura.

"I see you spoke the truth about the defenders being the true spawn of the cursed Mazingers!" he snarls in barely contained rage as he sees Zoe and Kaze in action.

"Yes. The big one came out of nowhere and destroyed my body," she says while pointing at Kaze. "When I moved to the second stage, and unleashed my titan battle body, the lizard surprised me with an ability that we hadn't expected her to possess." She adds, running the footage of Jura's giant size victory over Geisha.

"Very well. In thanks for your restoration of my fortress, I shall allow you to continue to dwell here, and will offer my assistance to the fight to rid the world of Mazingers forever," he tells her.

"Thank you, Dr. Hell. I look forward to working with someone as brilliant as you," Geisha smiles seductively at him.

"I swear, her programming only has two settings, sex and combat," Pyre mutters as he spies on the goings on in the conference room. "Still this latest addition could prove useful, if he can be manipulated. I may not even need to use those contingency plans after all," he grins as he revises, edits and alters his ongoing plots to include this new player.

"_Well, there is the H.E.A.T. Seeker. Let's hope that I don't have to keep looking,"_ Kaze thinks as she lands at the main part of the pier, before changing to her "normal human" look. "Anyone home?" She calls after climbing the gang way to the main deck.

"Yes. And you have exactly 6 seconds to explain yourself," A French accented voice informs her from behind as she feels the cold hard shape of a gun barrel press into her back.

"Put down the gun, before you hurt yourself. I'm extremely bullet proof," Kaze smirks over her shoulder at the dark haired woman pointing a nine millimeter pistol at her.

"Really? Perhaps we should put that to the test?" she smirks back, with a shove of her gun further into Kaze's back.

"Some people always have to do things the hard way. Hopefully this will put you at ease, Monique," Kaze sighs, as she reaches up toward her neck.

"Ah, ah," Monique chides, kicking Kaze behind the knee, and dropping the larger woman to her knees on the deck. "I didn't give you permission to move. And now, I would like to know how it is that you know me, and I have never seen you before, either in person or in photos."

"Do you really think Zoe didn't tell us about you guys? Or that Zuki would be able to keep quiet about her American cousin's family?" Kaze shoots back.

"You are simply digging this hole you are in deeper," Monique shoots back. "Now, Why are you here, and how did you come by your information?"

"I'm looking for Einstein," Kaze sighs.

"Have you tried your text books? I understand he was quite famous. And also quite dead," Monique shoots back.

"Cute. Scar said she assigned her and three others to stay with your team, and help protect Gigi's extended family," Kaze growls, getting tired of playing this game.

"Alright. There is really only one place you could have gotten that information, given how few have it," Monique admits. But you have yet to answer who you are."

"Can I stand up and turn around? I'm getting tired of you poking me in the back with that damn thing," Kaze returns.

"Proceed," Monique answers. When Kaze turns around, she is standing well out of reach.

"This should cover my credentials," Kaze smirks, reaching up and touching her choker.

Once the flash fades, Monique is left facing Kaze in all of her Mazinger inspired glory.

"I trust that I pass the test now? Or do I have to kick you around the deck some first?" she smirks.

"No, I think that the Mazingers have achieved an acceptable level of trust," Monique smirks back, putting her gun away.

"And that's what I know about her plans. So are you willing to help out?" Kaze asks the little Zilla-morph.

"Do I have brain dead tattooed on my forehead?" the mini retorts, quickly grabbing her much smaller scale tools and anything else she thinks she might be able to use. "Of course I'm willing to help! You Mazingers are some of the hottest tech around, and I'm not just talking about your looks."

"Thanks, I think," Kaze returns, not quite sure if she's been insulted, or offered a backhanded compliment.

"So you got a car or something out there?" the mini asks, as she hops up onto Kaze's shoulder.

"Nope. Who needs wheels, when you have wings?" Kaze returns, ducking through hatches as she heads back out toward the deck.

"But….flying is dangerous! And I don't have my helmet, or a parachute. Or my expanding shock cushioning vest…." Einstein rattles on as Kaze deploys her flight pack.

"Won't need it squirt. Any of it," Kaze assures her as she lifts the tiny girl off her shoulder, and cradles her in her arms like an infant. "I'll have her back as soon as possible," she adds to Monique before leaping up and igniting her jets.

"Of that I have no doubts," the French woman smirks, as she watches the pair fly off.

"You wanted to see me?" Lara asks after knocking on the door to Mandy's office.

"Yes. We have a favor to ask of you," Milenna returns from her position in one of the chairs facing Mandy's desk.

"I'm always willing to help," Lara returns. "What do you need?"

"We want you to go home and deliver a message for us," Mandy smirks as she hands over a sealed envelope.

"We're back!" Kaze announces as she returns to the hidden lab.

"Took you long enough," Kiryuu smirks, as she turns to face the pair. "Why do you have a mini with you though?"

"Can you think of anyone better suited to working on fine connections and stuff than someone who is small enough to get up close and personal with them?" Kaze shoots back.

"Yeah! I'm the resident electronics expert, so show some respect!" the pint size Zilla morph shoots back.

"Well, while you've been out, I revised some of our plans, thanks to some insightful comments from Kiryuu," Zoe returns.

"So I don't get to help?" Einstein asks dejectedly.

"Sure you do, since we are still going to need to strip the current weapons out of this body after I transfer over to the new one," Zoe tells her. "But rather than bringing the weapons over, we are just building new ones into the new body."

"How much time does that add?" Kaze asks.

"Rest of tonight," Kiryuu tells her.

"We're going to stay down here tonight, and start the transfer as soon as the new one is complete," Zoe tells them. "You are welcome to stay as well, so you can start as soon as I wake back up," she adds to Einstein.

"So I guess I get to run interference with Maizy," Kaze smirks.

"Good luck," Zoe grins as the larger girl turns and heads back up to the house.

"So, have you made the Legion ready for your coming battle?" Hell asks as Geisha finishes showing him the alterations they had made while restoring his fortress to functionality.

"My forces are finally complete. In two days time, we leave this place and travel to Neo Monster Island. Once we take that land, we will have what we require to take the rest of the world in short order," Geisha informs him. "As for the remains of your Mechanical Legion, This place was barren of them when we resurrected it from the depths."

"Ah, then there are still secrets here that you have yet to uncover," he grins as they come to a halt in the center of what has been dubbed the Mech Hanger.

"We searched this entire stronghold, and failed to discover anything more than a few spare parts of your robotic monsters," Geisha returns. "And our scanners are far more advanced than what would have been available to the photon lab when this island was sent to the depths."

"Then it appears that my innovations are still more than up to the task," Hell replies, striking his sheathed blade once against the floor.

In answer, a low rumble builds, causing all in the bay to move away from the heavy equipment, just in case anything is caused to fall.

"What are you doing?" Geisha demands, as the rumbling increases making the floor dance as if in the throes of an epic earthquake.

"Increasing our forces," he calmly responds, as panels in the walls and floor suddenly open, and long disused machinery once more rumbles to life, bringing the most successful models of the Mechanical Legion into the light of day for the first time in decades.

"Oh, this just went from being a battle, to being a slaughter," Geisha grins evilly as she turns in a slow circle, taking in the sight of the Mechanical Legion reborn.

"I don't care what you have to say, or what authority you think you have over me, I refuse to pilot that hulking, clanking, eyesore!" Mia snarls, slamming her fist down on the Generals desk hard enough to leave a dent in the wood.

"Now listen to me, -" he returns raising from his seat and preparing to shout down the mechanical woman.

"Forget it! I. Am. A. Ninja!" she snarls into his face from micrometers away. "I fight using stealth, subterfuge, and technique. There isn't ANYTHING subtle about a Kaiju sized robot!" I refuse to do it!" she finishes, before hurling a smoke bomb down at her feet, and using the resulting cloud to vanish from his office before he can recover from the small explosion in such a confined space.

"Well, that could have gone better," he wheezes, once he stumbles into the reception area.

"I take it we will need to continue to count on the team that is currently in training to pilot the M.O.G.E.R.A., sir?" his aid asks looking past his shoulder where smoke is still whisping out of his office.

"Unfortunately, yes. Whatever happened to her when she was lost, we have no control over her at all any longer, except being her only legal source of spare parts," the general sighs. "How is that group shaping up? Since they are now our only chance of using that unit when the Red Bamboo invades."

"Individually, they show promise, at least according to Professor Yumi, but none of them seem to be able to form a functioning team. Sounds like too many lone wolf fighter pilots to me, and not enough tank crew members in the training pool," his aid informs him.

"You're most likely correct," the general agrees with a sigh. "Do we have any other options? What about any of the previous anti-kaiju weapon pilots? Are any of them available for this?"

"No. Those who are not dead are retired, and refuse to help for anything less that the re-appearance of Godzilla himself. That route is a dead end, sir," the aid informs him.

A knock at the door signals the arrival of a new player.

"I hope I'm not intruding sir, but I was hoping to find out when the agent could be released into my custody," the man asks, clearly still not accustomed to wearing a uniform, let alone one of the more formal ones.

"And you are?" the aid demands, while the General give him a curious look over.

"Master Sergeant John Cross!" he returns, doing a credible imitation of snapping to attention. "Oh, SIR!" he adds.

"You are the military liaison to the team of scientists with the American Godzilla, Correct?" the General asks, his English much better than his aids.

"Um, yes sir. The agent in question is the one who sent us the info that we brought to you about the coming attack. He's also my brother," John tells him.

"Ah. Well, that explains why you are in such a hurry to get him out of our care and into your own," the general smiles. But before we see to that, I have some questions for you…" the General says, guiding John into his office and closing the door.

"How is the evacuation going?" Mandy asks, having just finished up the last class until this crisis is over.

"The students most notably the juniors, are all being sent to take refuge onboard the carrier," Milenna tells her. "The rest of the island is aware that things could happen just about any time now, and all the shelters are open and waiting for when the fan gets smothered."

"Good," the dragon woman smirks at her partners' choice of phrasing. "Have we heard anything from any of the wild cards?"

"Lara has yet to send us any kind of message one way or the other, and our more spiritually gifted students have yet to mention anything either. At the moment we are in the dark and stuck waiting for the other shoe to drop, just like everyone else," the jello colored alien sighs.

"Status?" Geisha demands as she enters the control center for the island fortress.

"At our current speed, we will be at the operation launch point in two days," one of the operations team informs her.

"Very well, two more days, and then this world will tremble at the name of Red Geisha," the crimson warlord smiles. She turns to leave, then adds," Carry on. Inform me of any problems."

"So, two more solar cycles, and this much planned for assult will finally be set into motion. It's about slagging time," Pyre scowls, turning from the monitor that just displayed the command center to him. "But this new player…he refuses to have anything to do with me. Bah, I always thought it was a bad idea to combine organic and machine, let alone to upload an organic mind into one. All that fools obsessions from his original life are still controlling him, as well as whatever he programmed into that body. I may have to abandon this world to these fools, rather than have to try and fix whatever botched disaster they make of it." Getting up, he begins to pace, "Perhaps it's time I made an effort to find that hunter they sent after me? After all, those Autobots, or whatever their descendants call themselves, would never send someone into a place like this without the means to return home at some point. If I can ambush them, and force them to return us, I can collect a few supplies, and just jump into the past yet again, and start again, this time without the added interference from these self styled rulers of this world." He grins as he heads toward the hatch to his quarters, "Guess it's time to head down to the work shop, and build a sensor booster and spark detector."

"I've been around this blasted world a dozen times, and can't even pick up the faintest reading from him," Phoenix snarls as she glides on the thermals in her bird form. "At least the scenery is nice," she sighs, thinking back to some of the places she has visited while searching for Pyre. "Seems as if my best lead was that strange island where Pyre gave that virus to those people. Perhaps they have had more recent contact with his doings? It wouldn't hurt to keep in contact with those others there either." And with that decision she banks out over the pacific, and begins her long glide toward the other side, resting on convenient ships as she progresses.

"I may not be a native, but even I know that islands are not supposed to move on their own like that," Phoenix mutters, as she catches sight of the Dr. Hell's fortress on the surface, and moving at a fair clip across the ocean. "Extrapolation of probable destination," she mutters as her navigation system attempts to line up the islands current path with what she knows of the world.

Her answer, while not un-expected, lowers her spirits even more. "Of course. Where else would it be heading, except where I'm planning to go?" she growls in irritation. "Well, at least my wings will get me there faster than it will. At least they will have that much warning," she sighs, before putting her synthetic muscles to work, until she is several miles out from the island, when she transforms, and increases her speed.

"Sir! We have a fast moving object reported coming in from the pacific! It's too small to be an aircraft, but it's going supersonic!" one of the air traffic controllers reports to the flight director and the airport. "Re route all incoming traffic around its projected flight path, and alert the S.D.F.! They've been on edge for the last week, and bothering us to report anything out of the ordinary. I'd say this qualifies, wouldn't you?"

"Let's go!" Zoe calls as she bursts into the kitchen where the others are having breakfast. "S.D.F. just called, there is a fast moving bogie headed this way, and we are the best equipped to back up the quick response fighters!"

"Since when do we answer to the Government?" Maizy demands, never the less getting up and preparing to take off.

"Since they decided to let us drive their giant robots," Kaze returns.

"Just come back in one piece. ALL of you," Jura tells them as they rush out the back door and take to the air.

"Hmm….For a second there I thought I had a reading. Must have just been a start up glitch," Pyre muses as he closes the torso panel where he had just installed his new detection hardware.

"Well, looks like someone noticed my approach," Phoenix grins, before transforming back into her beast form, the process rendering her effectively invisible to radar once again. She can't help but smile to herself as she listens in on the communications between the pair of jets sent to intercept her, and their main base. As the pair continues on, moving into a search pattern, Phoenix continues on her way, only pulling up short when she recognizes the energy signatures of the approaching trio of objects she is tracking. Once she catches sight of them, she transforms once more, waiting for the three to come to her.

"What? You mean to tell me we drug our shiny asses out here, and they lost the freaking target?" Maizy snarls at the news.

"The quick response fighters are running a search pattern to see what they can turn up. It's possible that whatever it was could land on the water, and did so when they realized they had been detected," Zoe returns.

"Or it could be that I didn't want to waste my time with "official channels" and wanted to give my news to those who would do something with it," Phoenix calls, breaking in on the com channel the mazin-girls are using.

"Phoenix!" Kaze calls, lowering her arms, and relaxing from the attack posture that the Cybertronians sudden appearance caused her to take up.

"Nice to see you all again," the falcon themed mechanoid returns, with a smile. "Unfortunately I have some strange news for you and your home. An island, of all things, is heading this way, on a direct course with the harbor."

"You flip a chip or something?" Maizy shoots back. "Islands don't move, and they sure as hell don't travel on direct courses toward other islands."

"I know it sounds impossible, but it's true. Here, take a look," Phoenix returns, sending each of them a small data pack of the images she collected while flying over the island.

"Zoe…Isn't that?" Kaze begins to ask, while Maizy starts swearing like a sailor.

"I don't believe it. Those carvings make it plain as day, but I don't fucking believe it…" the silver haired Mazinger says, her mouth agape in surprise.

"We know why they couldn't find the crimson bitch's base now," Maizy snarls. "She found that crazy son of a bitch's fortress and refitted the damn thing."

"But I thought all the files said that it was destroyed by the pilot of Mazinger Z?" Kaze returns. "If he blew it up, how did they manage to rebuild it?"

"The explosions could have been nothing more than cover," Zoe returns. "Or they could have been real, but the force of them not enough to truly destroy the place, only enough to cause it to sink. It would take work, but that kind of a salvage operation is quite possible, and that is without the kinds of advanced tech that a cyber doll would have access to."

"Then what you're saying is?" Phoenix asks, not following the conversation since she lacks the same frame of reference.

"That our enemies are coming, and they are far better armed than we had ever expected, even in our worst case plans." Zoe answers.

"I still can't believe that she managed to find that fortress, and make it operational again," Kaze mutters. "It must have taken her years to make it function again."

"Just means that we will have to make sure we do the job right this time, and send it under for good," Maizy smirks. "Dr. Hell's island is going to stay lost at sea this time."

"No." Zoe orders, floating into Maizy's projected flight path. "We wait. WE know that they are coming, and they don't know that we've been given a heads up. How long do you figure it will take them to arrive, at the speed they were traveling at when you discovered them?" Zoe asks.

Phoenix takes a moment, before answering, "About a day and a half, maybe two at the most."

"Then we've got that long. Maizy, you go to the school, and give the teachers the heads up. Share a recording of this conversation if you need to," Zoe orders. "Kaze, you go grab Jura, and get in touch with the other mechs who are not affiliated with the S.D.F. Let them know how close the shit storm is, then get to the base. I'm going to go clue in the General personally."

"I'd like to accompany you, if you don't object to another set of hands?" Phoenix adds, looking at Zoe.

"Glad to have you on board. Let's jet," Zoe agrees, as the group splits up to handle their own missions.

"Launch the Legion!" Geisha orders.

"Legion away," a control tech answers, as each of the robotic monsters vanishes into the launch bay.

"Then prepare the rest for deployment in the next wave. The golden guard and the special strike forces will lead, while the titans bring up the rear to finish off any remaining resistance," she orders.

"Impressive strategy. Send in the minimally intelligent legion to serve as shock troops, while the far more advanced mechs like yourself are reserved for the final crushing blow against any resistance. I approve," The Dark Overlord tells her.

"Pleased you agree. Now then, I need to mount up on my titan. You can assume command of the guard and special teams if you wish," Geisha informs him.

"I think not. I think I would like to crush this island with my own hands," he answers.

"You may join in, but you could still be harmed due to collateral damage from the larger units," Geisha reminds him.

"Oh I don't think so," he returns, as once more an ominous grinding noise is heard from the mech bay.

As those in the bay run around in a panic, yet another unit rises from the depths hidden beneath the bay.

"My horse, for the coming battle," he states proudly, the huge mech clearly cast in his image.

"When sending your enemies to hell, I have no problem with the Overlord expediting their trip," Geisha grins, before heading out into the bay.

"Status on the evacuation?" the General calls into the command center.

"Complete, Sir! Shelter bunkers are locking down as we speak." One of the techs reports back.

"Time to expected first contact?" he asks.

"Estimated time is another fourteen hours or so, sir!" another tech returns.

"Start-up on the Atragon?" his latest request.

"Still in progress," Professor Yumi informs him, as he rolls into the command center. "And all the mechs have been loaded, prepped, and are ready for launch as soon as the ship is airborne."

"Thank you professor," the General returns, before turning to the latest arrivals, and asking, "And how are our special passengers? Are they all settled in?"

"Most of them want to help fight," Mandy returns. "And to be honest, they could make a hell of an impact if there are ground forces brought into play, other than the big stuff."

"And there are quite a few with the power of flight at their command as well," Milenna adds. "That can always turn the tide if required."

"I'll keep that in mind. How are your two aces doing? Are they going to be ready if we need them?" he asks.

"Not happy about the need, but yeah, we'll be ready if you need something monster stomped," Ginoa returns as she and Jura walk in behind the teachers.

"CONTACT!" one of the techs calls out. "We have giant robots emerging from the sea all along the harbor front and beach on that side of the island!"

"WHAT? It's still too early! We had another half a day before the fortress was in place! What's its current location?" the General demands.

"Satellite surveillance puts it resting over the Japan Trench, sir." The tech who was keeping track of the time answers.

"Must have been a last minute adjustment that our guy wasn't privy to," he mutters. "Get this boat fired up! Meanwhile, alert all S.D.F. forces that they will have to keep them occupied until we can get airborne!"

"Obviously, we should have left one or two of the mechs outside, just in case," Professor Yumi sighs dejectedly as the Mechanical Legion begins to rampage through Kagiju.

"Hindsight is always twenty/twenty, Professor. Now we're going to need a miracle to save the city," the General tells him.

"Sir! Incoming missile barrage! Targeted on the enemy!" the tech calls.

"Who? None of our units are in place to do that yet," the General wonders.

"We have friends, and some of them have some pretty big guns, and are willing to help out when we really need it," Mandy grins.

"Sir! Another incoming, this one is on par with the size of the enemy!" the tech reports.

"Location?" the General demands.

"Low orbit, and coming in hot!" he returns.

"Or when one of their kids ask them to help us," Milenna adds.

"Then that?" he asks.

"I'd say that Lara and company timed their arrival perfectly," Mandy returns, her grin going feral.

The island shakes with the impact of the object that the S.D.F. had been tracking on its way down from orbit.

"Subtle Coop. Real subtle," Lara grins from her seat next to Kiva.

"You expected otherwise?" Kiva smirks back, shaking her head as she turns her attention back to the holo screen in front of her, where she is tracking the current threats.

""He _does_ have a reputation for mass destruction to uphold after all," Jaime adds from the shotgun seat.

"Pipe down, all of yahs," Coop smirks from behind the heavily modified steering wheel. Picking up a C.B. handset, he keys the mic and calls, "Hey! Blue Jello and the Dragon Lady! Is this a private party? Or can anyone crash?"

"Is this guy for real?" One of the techs mutters in astonishment at Coops manner.

"What the hell kind of mech is that?" Another demands in shock as the smoke clears, and they get their first look at the MEGAS.

"Coop, Lara was your invitation to the party. But we're currently having some problems getting our party wagon up and running, so if you could play security for us until we can come out and deal with the crashers ourselves, that would be peachy," Mandy smirks as she speaks into a communications headset.

"Bust heads on the creeps trashing the town? Sounds like a party to me," Coop sends back, before sending them all in a lumbering run toward the nearest robot monster.

"What can that patchwork mech do against those monsters?" the General demands as they watch the MEGAS charge the nearest mech, one of the Garada K7 units.

"Watch and learn General," Milenna grins. "The MEGAS XLR is _far_ more than the sum of its parts."

Coop begins his attack with a rebel yell, and an energy blast that resembles a flaming eight-ball. The skull faced mech takes the shot in the gut, before standing up and removing one of the huge blades from its head as it counter charges Coop.

"Ugly, and stupid. Just how I like my cannon fodder," Coop grins as he launches the MEGAS' fists in a left, right, left, right, barrage. As he draws the mechs arms back for the next launch, another fist slides down and locks into place from within the mechs arm. The hits walk up that Garada's torso, with the last one slamming it in the faceplate, and knocking it off its feet.

"That…that shouldn't be possible…" Professor Yumi whispers, as they watch the incredibly un-orthodox attack methods of the Coop and the MEGAS.

"Professor, the capabilities of that mech give _me_ a headache when I try to understand how he did it," Milenna smiles at the older man. "It's just easier to accept that it _can_ do it, and enjoy the fact that the bad guys are usually in the same boat as we are when it comes to understanding it."

Watching the Garada pick itself up off the ground, the control room is again stunned when the headlights of the car that make up the mechs head fire off an energy blast that knocks it's retrieved blade from its hand.

"Lock and load!" Coop cheers as the MEGAS undergoes a transformation, hatches and panels flipping open and sliding aside to reveal an immense arsenal of ray and ballistic guns. When Coop fires them, it appears as if a solid wall of lead and hard light slam into the Garada, and shatter/slag it to pieces in short order.

"Who's next?" Coop challenges, while the MEGAS posses like a kung-fu star in a badly dubbed movie.

A Doublas M2 steps up to the challenge, already unleashing its eyebeams.

"Engines online!" one of the techs calls out, as display lights around the room get perceptively brighter with the infusion of full power.

"Activate the drill, and take us out," the General orders. "It's time to pull in the welcome mat, and see if we can knock them off their feet in the process."

"SIR!" the bridge crew answers, as they jump to carry out the orders and launch the Atragon.

Coop is about to tie both of the Doublas' heads into a knot, when the MEGAS is blasted off its feet.

"I don't know who you are, or where you got the moronic looking mech, but opposing me is going to be the last thing you ever do in your miserable excuse for an existence," Geisha snarls, as she and her other Titans emerge from the waves.

But before she can make good on her threat, all eyes are drawn to the mountain over the city, where a dull rumble is building. One side is suddenly pierced by the titanic drill at the front of the battle carrier, as it forces its way free of the hidden base where it was built.

"Altitude stabilized…Engine output…in the green….We're good to go, Sir," the helmsman informs the General.

"Deploy our mech team!" the General orders.

"Thought you would never give the word," Zoe grins, as she directs the others to drop, and back up the MEGAS.

"Well, well. It seems our foes have been planning for your return," The Overlord remarks, his attention focused on the Atragon, as he steps up next to Red Geisha.

"Oh, the ship isn't all that we've been getting ready for your return," Zoe remarks, as the MG units deploy first, and take up a defensive line to prevent any additional damage to the city.

"Impressive, but hardly effective against my robotic legion," the Overlord returns, sneering at the Mechanical Kaiju.

"I think you might be surprised, but _we_ are going to be your sparring partners for this little party," Zoe continues, as the next wave deploys from within the Atragon. Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser cause a minor earth tremor as they land, while Great Mazinger hovers over their heads, arms crossed, and _somehow_ having a smug look on its mouth grill.

"_MAZINGERS!_" the Overlord snarls, as he draws his great ebon blade.

"You bet ugly, and we are all set to kick your emo dressed ass," Maizy grins, and Mazinger Z's arms come up and she assumes a fighting stance.

"Not so smug when it's a fair fight, are you?" Kaze asks, grinning as she draws the twin blades from within the Mazinkaisers' shoulders.

"Are you three ready?" Dr. Tokai asks.

"Yes Ma'am," her Getter girls answer.

"Your ships are awaiting you in the fighter bay. Good luck," she tells them before turning away so they won't see the tears in her eyes.

"Alright boys and girls, get me that battle ship, while we return these old model mechs to the scrap heap where they belong," Geisha orders. As the Titans and Legion mechs open fire on the Mazingers and other defenders, a veritable horde of smaller units emerge from the clouds and swarm the Atragons' defensive fire.

"Where did those units come from?" the General demands as explosions begin to rock the ship.

"Given the small size, and general E.C.M. jamming that we've had since the robots first appeared, they where most likely there the whole time, and we just couldn't detect them against the background noise of the jamming, Sir," the radar tech explains.

"Point defense guns, fire at will!" he orders, causing the ship to erupt in a fire storm of return fire directed at the smaller units.

"Sir, Getter Craft requesting take off clearance," the flight control tech reports.

"Let them fly," he returns. "And get the reserve mechs up to the flight deck. It looks like they are planning to board us!"

"Forward! Destroy the defensive guns and open the ship!" Ezra screams, in between strafing runs as she and Korgha lead the airborne infantry forces. The golden copies of Zoe, and the Simian special forces leap to follow her orders, unleashing all of their weapons at the guns, before maneuvering toward the deck.

The first groups to land don't get to stay for long, as the Getter ships rise from the hanger deck and launch, sweeping the deck clear of the first arrivals with their wings and backwash.

"Shove it up your ass, bitch!" another voice calls out, before several multicolored energy blasts erupt from the flight deck, as the Kina's and the Zarivire twins reach the deck and add their powers to the dwindling return fire from the ships guns.

"Coop, you get the Legion mechs. We'll deal with the maidens. M.G.'s? targets of opportunity, but your main focus is to keep them out of the rest of the city. Clear?" Zoe commands.

"Works for me," Coop agrees, returning to beating the crap out of the robot monsters of Dr. Hell.

"Understood. We've got your backs," Katsura returns, with additional responses from Kiryuu and Sumegi.

"I'll head upstairs, and help out on the ship," Lara adds.

"Just a sec," Coop says, lowering the convertible top for her.

"Thanks dad," She says, before launching herself skyward.

"I'm still amazed that you two managed to turn that massive collection of weapons and spare parts into such a…._normal_ person," Jamie smirks watching her jets carry Lara up to the Atragon.

"Hey, man. We're the good guys. Making it all work out in the end is what we do," Coop shoots back as the roof closes overtop of them once more.

"Besides, given the things we've seen and done, define "normal"," Kiva smirks back. "Coop, that two headed thing wants a re-match. Coming up on the right, from behind us!" she calls out.

"ROCK ON!" he yells, cranking the wheel, and spinning the MEGAS around to deal with the threat.

"All systems report green. How about you two?" Ryta asks into the com.

"All systems look good from here," Becky returns.

"Ready to go," Hanna adds.

"Then it's time to add another fighter to this party," Ryta tells them. "Ready?"

"Ready!" they respond.

In perfect synch, they form up and call out, "Getter Change! Getter One!"

Panels slide, and components move, the three aircraft coming together and merging into a single unit. With another minor shockwave, they land.

For the first time in decades the Getter Robo, Dragon Formation stands ready to fight.

"You bitch's ready to see what the next generation can do?" Ryta taunts, drawing the attention of the single titan on the field that most closely resembles their current form.

"You should have never resurrected it. The Getter should have stayed dead," the giant getter girl snarls in response. "I am Drakina, and I will be the only opponent you will face. Because you will not survive the experience!" she finishes, the buzz saws on her arms spinning up as she charges.

A red white and black titan with a gold colored chest plate begins to move around the fringe of the shaping battle, heading toward the MG units.

"Katsura! Diana is headed your way! I suggest teaming up with Sumegi to take her down," Zoe calls, as she and Geisha lock blades.

"Understood," Katsura returns, as she and her sister move forward to block the approaching maiden.

"Hi Gaia, Zoe's told me a lot about you," Maizy smirks as she kicks the larger mech girl in the head.

"Then you should know that Mazinger Z is out classed by my powers," She returns, her shoulder pads shooting upward and combining, so that her battle sword drops back down into her hands.

"While I tear you and your mech apart, My sister and Gretchen will destroy your home," Mary, the largest of the original Getter Sisters sneers to the MG3.

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that," Kiryuu shoots back, unloading her weapons pack and arm shields into the more humanoid mech.

"Sir! Upper deck point defense weapons are off line, and the reserve unit is taking a pounding!" one of the techs calls out to the General.

"Let us give you a hand," Gina comments, as she and several K-girls speak up from the doorway, where they had entered un-noticed during the excitement.

"No. You girls are her main objective in this. Keeping you out of her hands is our top priority," the General answers.

"No, the Kids are at the top of her hit list. We are just a perk that she will take if she has the chance," Crystal returns. "She found out the last time that we are a LOT more trouble to keep under control than the kids are."

"They are right General. And the longer you argue, the more likely that the team topside is going to get wiped out and they will be fighting in the corridors anyway," Milenna adds.

The General is silent for a moment, before growling, "You're right. Good luck, and try to keep from getting yourselves killed."

"You heard him. The ones with weaker combat skills, or lacking a ranged attack will remain below deck as a second line of defense, except for the fliers. Their job is to help anyone who might fall off the deck. Go," Mandy orders.

"Not looking very good is it?" Gaikina mutters, as she and her sisters stand in the center of the deck, with Lara and the Gravion Twins at their backs, fighting off the hordes that just seem to keep landing.

"Not particularly," Kera mutters over her shoulder as she launches several mini-missiles from her right arm armor.

The sound of the flight elevator goes un-noticed by the defenders and their attackers.

"Take them!" Ezra Orders, waving the Golden Guard and the Simian Special Forces forward.

The neon blue radiation blast that knocks her to the deck however is noticed by everyone.

"Like, take that, Fang Face!" Miki smirks, as the girls leap from the elevator, and charge the horde.

"Coop, flame headed thing with a ball and chain arm, coming up on the right. Something that I'm guessing uses electrical attacks coming up on the left," Kiva warns.

"Don't forget the half dozen rushing in from the front!" Jaime screams.

"Easy," Coop smirks, using his thumb to flip up a cover on the gear shift knob sticking up from the floor. (the MEGAS has one on the steering column as well)

Jamie's scream of panic is swiftly left behind as the MEGAS blurs forward on its nitrous charge, the blue afterimages leaving nothing but torn up pavement and smoking robot wreckage in its wake.

"Now, what was that about flames and electricity?" Coop grins, as he turns the MEGAS back toward the remaining Legion Mechs.

"Everyone seems to be occupied Kat," the Grendizer girl remarks as she and the last of the Getter sisters advance on the town.

"Yes. Should make it a simple matter for the pair of us to level this place," she returns. "I just don't like destroying the city. If it was a base or something I'd be fine, but, screw it. Orders are orders, right Gretch?" Kat returns.

Gretchen offers a nod. "Yeah, but the sooner we raze this hole, the sooner we can stop looking over our shoulder all the time."

"We owe her big for the rescue, don't we?" Kat asks as her arms shift, her battle gear appearing.

"Yeah. Can't believe they were going to slag us after everything. As if being Decommissioned after winning wasn't a big enough insult." Gretchen agrees, pulling her Harken free.

"I love it when I win," Geisha grins, listening in on her troops com chatter as she and Zoe circle each other.

"What are you so smug about, bitch?" Zoe growls, as she guides Great Mazinger as if it was an extension of her own neural net.

"The fact that your team now sees me as their savior, and you as someone who didn't lift a finger to prevent their destruction, even though you where fully aware of it," Geisha grins back.

"Crimson plated psychopath," Zoe mutters, unleashing her photon beams.

"Better than spreading my legs for every man in the district, dear," Geisha fires back, meeting photonic energy with photonic energy. "The only way to get into my pants now, is to serve me well. How do you enjoy being a sex object every night of your miserable life?"

"I take pride in how I was built," Zoe shoots back. "You never where wired right."

"Whatever helps you sleep dear," Geisha snarls, her arm transforming into an energy cannon as she brings it up to fire toward Great Mazingers Face.

"So, you think you are strong enough to stand against me, eh?" the Overlord of Hell asks, as he and Kaze circle each other, looking for an opening to attack.

"Far as I'm concerned, you're just another mech with delusions of god hood, like the crimson bitch," Kaze returns, as the Mazinkaiser fires its photon beams.

"Hell Blast!" the overlord answers, his black eye beams matching the 'Kaisers for strength, before the energies explode.

Kaze reels back a step from the blast, while the Overlord charges through it. She barely manages to bring her blades up in time to catch his cleaving slash, and even then, the Mazinkaiser is dropped to one knee by the force of the blow.

"Pathetic. Even Mazinger Z would be a better challenge than your weak efforts," he growls, bearing down, trying to knock the blades from the 'Kaisers hands.

"Kiss my shiny silver ass," Kaze smirks, as the Tornado Power erupts from Mazinkaisers mouth grill, knocking the Overlord away.

"Sir! All units are currently occupied, and we've got a pair of hostiles about to lay into the city!"

"Zoe! I know your busy, but we got a pair of visitors with no dance partners up to no good," the General calls into the open com net.

Kaze takes her eyes off the overlord in order to spot the trouble.

"I don't think so," she growls, hurling both blades at the un-engaged pair.

Then she pays for getting distracted from her current opponent, as his crimson lightning slams her in the back, and sends the 'Kaiser spinning to the ground.

"Two slow lizards, verses my karate skills. This is going to be fun," Diana grins, as she prepares to lay into the first two MechaGodzilla's.

"You talk too much," Katsura returns, as MG1 opens up with its entire arsenal, the multiple detonations and ray impacts blasting Diana off her feet, and collapsing several already damaged buildings on top of her.

"Why did Zoe think it would take both of us?" Sumegi asks, as the rubble settles.

Then the rubble is blasted off Diana by the equivalent of Mazinger Z's Hurricane Power.

"Next Question?" Katsura remarks, as Diana climbs back to her feet.

"Hold still, so I can gut you, you runt!" Gaia snarls as she lashes out again and again at Mazinger Z.

"Now is that any way to speak to your elders?" Maizy smirks back, ducking Mazinger Z under another slash as she works in close to the Gaiking girl.

"So you're the prototype. She abandoned us, her sisters in arms, to go live as her commanders personal toy, and play nurse maid to a half size Maiden wannabe. I never thought it was true, but your being here just proves it beyond a doubt," Gaia growls, the betrayal in her tone unmistakable.

"What the hell are you going on about?" Maizy demands, catching the next swing on the cutter blades of her left arm. "Zoe was cut loose, same as the rest of you. She found me locked in a closet back at the professors house, and uploaded a copy of the sentience program into me. She's been taking care of me, true, but we didn't even work with the government until your bitch boss showed back up and started shit with us."

"Lies. She was fully aware of what they planned to do to us, and didn't do a thing. Geisha was the only one who cared enough to come back for us," Gaia returns.

"Sounds to me like your "savior" mind fucked you and the others, to turn you into her obedient little pet," Maizy smirks. "So I think it's past time you had a time out."

With that, Maizy unloads a rocket punch uppercut, clipping Gaia in the chin, before emptying the launchers of her inner arm missile launcher into the larger mechs gut.

As her arm reconnects, Maizy adds, "And for the record, I'm the only one who gets to badmouth Zoe and get away with it."

"The city is going to get wiped out!" Lara yells as the reserve mech team and the k-girls continue to fight back against the Golden guard and the Simian Special Forces teams assaulting the carrier.

"Hydro-root Cannons!" Vulkina snarls, as her shoulder cannons sweep a path clear on the upper deck for what seems like the hundredth time since the battle started.

Kera gives Sera a look, causing the darker twin to ask, "Can you guys make a big enough hole in this mess for us to get over the side?"

"You're going to run? Lara demands in shock.

"No," Kera snarls. "They need help on the ground. And together, we can do that."

"Gai?" Raikina asks, as her finger blasters continue to spit hard light into the gold colored copies of Zoe.

"On the count of three, sweep the deck!" Gaikina orders, her chest plate unleashing a flame blast that slag's another opposing mech girl. "Rai! Let the bridge know what we're up to!"

On her mark, the six mechs cut loose with a barrage of firepower that opens several yards of clear space between them and the opposing forces.

It also gives them an opportunity to link up with the k-girls.

"Move!" Vulkina roars, as she provides covering fire for everyone.

While the others rush toward the K-girls, Kera and Sera dive over the side.

"ELGO!" Kera yells, a red globe of energy forming around her and her sister.

"Keep them off the mechs!" Ghidra calls, as she notices Lara and the others running toward their position.

A wave of rainbow colored energy blasts streak past the mech girls, as the K's show that the time they have been spending down in the arena hasn't been going to waste.

"General! Kera and Sera have abandoned the battle on the hull, saying that they can do more good on the ground!" the com tech calls, passing on Raikina's report.

"How can they stand up to the giant robots?" the General demands, turning to the teachers.

"According to the others, those two managed to knock Geisha off balance, and a mass firing from the others present was enough to take her down for a moment," Milenna returns.

"And have those two told us everything that they are truly capable of?" Mandy adds. "You should know by now, General, that women like their little secrets."

"Damn! That's going to hurt," one of the techs mutters loud enough to be over heard.

"Report!" the General demands.

"MazinKaiser abandoned its fight with the caped mech to help out against the two that had free reign. The pilots aim is incredible, because they hit each of the targets with a thrown blade. Problem is the 'Kaiser got hammered in return by the caped mech, and is currently down," the tech informs them.

"Hope his health insurance and mechanics bills are paid up," Mandy smirks.

The General shoots her a questioning look.

"Kaze…..has a bit of a temper when it comes to getting sucker punched, or when her family and friends are in danger," Milenna informs him.

"Guess who just put a 'kick my ass, please' sign on?" Mandy grins.

"You know, for a couple of cannon fodder bozo's, these two make a pretty good team," Coop remarks, as yet another flame blast splashes against the energy disk the MEGAS is using as a shield.

"Why are you still playing with them?" Kiva demands.

"No kidding. You've wiped out three times this many Glorft in half the time," Jamie adds.

"Fine, fine, I'll polish them off," Coop tells them, bringing the MEGAS' hands together. As they move back apart, a bar of energy remains connecting them. Releasing one end, Coop wields the resulting energy blade in one hand while offering a 'bring it' gesture to the pair with the other.

The pair charge him, their fire and electrical attacks proceeding them, but managing to miss the blue mech with every shot.

"Bonzaiii!" Coop yells, as the MEGAS goes postal on the pair, ripping them to shreds, before cutting the power to the blade.

"That's more like it," Kiva Smirks.

"Looks like they need some more well intentioned destruction over that way," Jaime says, pointing toward where Two Titans are approaching the city, without any dance partners to get in their way.

"So what do you think? Can we fly this monster?" Chris asks.

"That last sim run looked good," the lieutenant answers. "If the boss gives you a green light, I'd be happy to have you with me in the field."

"Ginoa will freak when she finds out that I'm now qualified to drive an anti-kaiju mecha," John grins.

"Saddle up! They need us out there ten minutes ago!" the lieutenant orders them.

Sparks fly as Drakina and the Getter Dragon clash, their forearm blades grinding against each other.

"I'm surprised that they managed to restore this piece of junk to this level," Drakina growls, jumping backward.

"Oh, you're going to find that they did an excellent job," Ryta smirks, as she draws the Getter Tomahawks and lets them fly at Drakina.

"Getter, BEAM!" Drakina answers, the energy flashing from above her eyes, and knocking the flying axes away. "Now, let me show you how that goes," she snarls, drawing her own tomahawks, and charging.

"Open GET!" Ryta calls, as the trio disengage the locks holding the getter together. As Drakina slashes through where they were, the three getter craft take to the air.

"Getter Change! Getter two!" they call, as the craft reform above, utilizing the second configuration. "Let's see just how quick you really are," Hanna remarks, as the Getter Liger Lands, and faces off with Ryta once more.

"I'm not very impressed. The Simians talk about the incredible power their MechaGodzilla possessed," Diana smirks. "If that is the equal of what they had back then, it's no wonder it was destroyed twice in a row."

"Take that back," Sumegi growls, MG2 stomping forward to stand in front of Katsura and MG1. Take it back _right now!_"

"Sumegi…" Katsura begins, only to be interrupted by Diana.

"You're mech is even less impressive to me. Letting the old hardware do all the work, while you stand back and play it safe. Pathetic," she continues.

"I thought you _Maidens_ where supposed to be hot shit? This all you're capable of? Taking a pounding and running your mouth?" Sumegi shoots back.

"Hiiiya!" Diana yells a she launches into a flying kick aimed to take MG2's head off.

"Sucker," Sumegi smirks, as MG2 opens up with the eye lasers, the Mega Buster, and the shoulder launched missiles. Diana takes a pounding, and is sent flying back.

Until Sumegi launches her Shock anchors.

"Get over here!" she growls, yanking on the cables after they wrap around one of Diana's legs.

"Hey! Leggo!" Diana yelps, as she is roughly redirected in mid flight.

"You are not the only one who knows hand to hand combat," Katsura growls, as she brings MG1's hands together and smashes them down on Diana's head, knocking her off line for a moment.

A moment that the pair use to demolish her by unleashing both of the entire arsenals, and then stomping her into scrap.

"Nicely played little sister," Katsura grins.

"She wouldn't last a second in school," Sumegi grins, enjoying the praise.

"You always did telegraph moves like that," Zoe grunts, as she drops down under the line of fire and spin kicks Geisha in the gut.

"Why won't you just die already?" the RBA leader demands as she staggers backward from the blow.

"And give you the satisfaction? Please," Zoe retorts, launching her left fist at Geisha's head.

"I never did understand why you all thought firing off your limbs was a good idea. All you do is disarm yourselves," Geisha smirks, knocking the rocket powered punch away with her arm shield, and charging Great Mazinger once more.

"It's called tactical planning. You might have learned strategy, but your tactics still suck," Zoe smirks, as the Great Typhoon is unleashed, and blasts Geisha off her feet, while Greats' left arm returns and reconnects.

"Cute. I'm going to enjoy ripping your power core out and crushing it," Gaia growls as she climbs back to her feet.

"Awe, I bet you say that to everyone who makes you look like a total moron," Maizy smirks back, as Mazinger Z fires its belly missile at her.

"Zaul GUYSER!" Gaia calls, twin colored energy blasts erupting from the small skull mounted above her breasts and spiraling together before they smash into the missile, detonating it and continuing toward Mazinger Z.

"Whoop, sorry, try again!" Maizy laughs, dodging clear, before firing her Photon Beams.

"Despair Sight!" Gaia counters, her eyebeams cancelling out Mazinger Z's.

"Huh, didn't expect that one," Maizy mutters, as she fires the Fire Blaster.

"Hyper Blazer!" Gaia counters, only to be shocked when the flame blast from her skull emblem is overpowered by the smaller mech.

The remaining energy leaves her scorched, but otherwise unharmed.

"Is that all you've got, runt?" Gaia grins, as she shrugs off the damage.

"Rocket Punch!" Maizy calls, firing both fists.

"Puncher Grind!" Gaia retorts, her own fists colliding with Mazinger Z's, before they all return to their owners.

"You're actually pretty good, even if you're not a match for Zoe," Maizy reluctantly admits.

"Your skills are impressive as well, but I'm still going to take you off line for good," Gaia returns.

"Kiryuu, _NOW!_" Maizy yells, as Mazinger Z dives to the side.

"Am I supposed to be impressed by this?" Mary demands as explosions erupt across her body. "My armor is the heaviest of the three of us. This is nothing."

"Well Whoop-de-do for you," Kiryuu returns, as she adds the Mazer cannons in MG3's mouth to the barrage.

"You are a joke," Mary returns, as she fires her missiles.

Kiryuu leaps back on her thrusters, dodging the impacts. Before she jets forward for a shoulder slam.

'Oof!" Mary grunts, as Kiryuu slams into her. Then she grabs MG3, and choke slams it into the ground. "Pathetic," she growls.

"You know, for a member of an "elite combat team", you're not that bright," Kiryuu returns, the charged combat knife extending from her left arm armor, as her right battle fist compacts into a drill.

Mary is taken completely off guard as Kiryuu tail sweeps her, and stabs the knife into her left knee, while slamming the drill into her gut.

"I'm going to rip you apart, one circuit at a time for that," Mary growls, as her knee sparks and liquid drips from the ragged gash Kiryuu managed to rip in her gut.

MG3 rolls back to its feet, as Marry struggles back to standing.

"Oh, just shut up already," Kiryuu smirks, launching each of the large shoulder batteries at her.

"Still not impressed by your firepower," Mary fires back, using her own missiles to detonate them before they can do any damage to her.

But the smoke prevents her from seeing the main pack itself launch.

"Eat this," Kiryuu grins, as she opens fire on the pack just before it slams into Mary.

"Alright, I'll give you that one," Mary grudgingly admits, picking herself up off the ground. "But I'm done playing with you," she growls as nets launch from her fingers, enmeshing the MG3 as if it had been caught in heavy spider web.

Before Kiryuu can begin to break free, Mary heaves, and pulls the MG3 off its feet, slamming it into the ground several times. Kiryuu finally manages to break loose, but both of the arm mounted weapons binders have been totaled, and the combat knife snapped off.

"And here I thought you where all talk," Kiryuu mutters, as MG3 gets to its hands and knees, it's torso panels opening as if the locks had been broken by the abuse.

"Poor choice for your last words," Mary sneers, as she stalks toward Kiryuu, with the clear intention of finishing her off.

Kiryuu grins as she checks her targeting, and discovers that not only does she have Mary dead in her sights, Maizy has maneuvered her own dance partner into line as well.

Maizy's cry is all the incentive she needs to mash down the trigger, and unleash her most devastating weapon.

The Absolute Zero Cannon's blast crystallizes Mary before she knows what hit her, and does the same to Gaia.

"So much for all your talk," Kiryuu sneers, as MG3 stands, roaring in victory.

"Paybacks a bitch, and so am I," Maizy grins, as Mazinger Z rolls onto it's back and unleashes a rocket punch at each of the frozen Maidens.

They both shatter spectacularly with the impacts.

"Nice shooting Kiryuu, but unfortunately I didn't manage to get far enough out of your line of fire," Maizy calls.

"How bad are you damaged?" Kiryuu demands, patching the bridge into their conversation.

"Z's done, at least for this fight," she announces. "Both legs shattered when I rolled over to fire."

"Maizy, They could use some help up here on the upper hull," Mandy informs her.

"Sounds like a plan," Maizy answers, the cockpit canopy sliding up. "Let them know I'm on my way," she says, before igniting her flight pack and making a beeline for the Atragon.

"What the hell?" Gretchen mutters, as she looks up at the huge red energy globe that is descending toward them.

"Can't be a weapon discharge. Not moving that slow," Kat adds.

They are both taken unawares as Kaze's blades hit them both from behind, Gretchen catching one in the shoulder, while Kat almost has her head taken off.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" Kera asks, one last time before they begin.

"No. Without the Govigaroth, we won't be able to achieve max power. Best we can do is make sure they don't get any closer to the city until one of the others can back us up," Sera returns. "And for the record, I hate being reduced to a power booster."

"I know. But it's time," Kera returns with sympathy.

Within the globe, both twins jettison their armor, and Sera's body undergoes an odd transformation, folding in on itself, and splitting in half, before linking with Kera. After that, both sets of drones link to Kera, Sera's set linking in on top of Kera's.

"It's time for the final connection," Kera says.

"_Ultimizer linkage…locked,"_ Sera returns, having been reduced to a voice in the back of Kera's mind during this transformation.

"Then let's show these people what happens when we work together," Kera snarls, her sisters energies flowing through the newly formed equipment that they can only access when working together like this. Then the red Elgo globe shatters, the down blast causing windows to explode, and knocking Gretchen and Kat off their feet.

"Ultimate combination..Ultimate Gravion!" Kera announces, landing with another earth shaking thud.

"Didn't see that one coming," Milenna announces, watching the screens as Kera enters the ground battle.

"No kidding," Mandy agrees. "At this rate the true monsters are going to be replaced by our students."

"At least we can make them behave. The true Daikaiju tend to obliterate things that try to stop them," Milenna retorts with a slight smile.

"True," Mandy agrees. "So General, what do you think of this development?"

"I think I'm going to need a vacation when this is all over," He mutters in shock, but pleased that things seem to be turning in the defenders favor. Turning back to the techs he demands," Update! How are they doing down there?"

"MG3 has taken a pounding sir. Katsura and Sumegi both report fully functional and ready for their next opponent," Is the answer.

"Sir, Mazinger Z is down. Pilot reports that both legs were destroyed by being too close to the discharge of the Absolute Zero Cannon," another tech returns.

"Pilot status?" Mandy demands.

"On her way up here to help out with the fracas on the deck," the first tech adds.

"Enemy status?" the General asks.

"All Mechanical Legion designate mechs have been destroyed. Of the units identified as being former Shogun Maidens, Diana, Mary, and Gaia have all been destroyed. Unit designate Drakina is currently engaged with the Getter Robo, units Gretchen and Kat are getting ready to mix it up with the new unit on our side. Red Geisha is still fighting with Great Mazinger, and the Mazinkaiser is currently down, but the pilot reports that she will be back in action momentarily.

"And that blue mech?" the General asks.

"We've had no contact with him since this started," they answer.

"Coop tends to do things his own way," Mandy remarks. "He knows who the bad guys are, so it's probably best to just let him run amok on them."

"I expected so much more fro m you than this dismal showing," the Overlord growls as he stomps back toward Mazinkaiser.

"What, you expected me to concentrate on you, instead of making sure that your flunkies don't trash my home? So pleased to disappoint," Kaze shoots back, as she gets the 'Kaiser to its feet.

"Defiant to the last. I would expect nothing less of a Mazinger Pilot. Any further last words, before I send you to the next plane of existence?" the Overlord remarks, brandishing his blade.

"I think I've heard just about all of the shit from you that I want to," Kaze remarks, as the seams of the Mazinkaisers joints begin to glow. In the next second, energy pours from them, as well as the gold emblem in the center of the fire blaster emitter. In the time it takes to blink, the 'Kaiser in engulfed in a swirling storm of energy, with a huge Z forming over and over again as the energies spin around it.

"What is the meaning of this?" the overlord demands, staring in momentary shock at the latest development.

"Mimicking Kat isn't going to save you," Drakina snarls, as she faces off with the reformed Getter Robo.

"Big talk. Can you back it up?" Hanna grins, before launching the fastest of the three Getter modes into action, punches and kicks landing faster than Drakina can react to them.

"Enough!" Drakina snarls, getter energy bleeding through her armor, and coating her in a glowing nimbus of energy. She wastes no time in dashing forward and throwing a getter powered punch that could detonate a football field.

""Open GET!" the sisters call, as the Getter craft separate and jet clear, frustrating Drakina all the more.

"DAMNIT! STAND AND FIGHT ME!" Drakina roars, firing Getter Beams after the craft.

"Careful what you ask for," Becky remarks, as the Getter Poseidon lands behind her, and unloads a haymaker that she can't dodge in time. Before Drakina can recover, Becky launches the finger nets, trapping her and unleashing the cyclone blast, launching her skyward. Before Drakina can shed her momentum and fall victim to gravity, Hanna is there, the reconfigured Getter using its insane speed to hammer the original Getter Girl without mercy, before a missile barrage blasts her earthward.

"Time to finish this," Ryta growls, as the trio reform the Getter Dragon. Power diving after Drakina, the Dragon begins to glow. "Shine Spark!" they all call, pulling up as the energy form continues on, smashing into Drakina and causing even more damage when she impacts with the ground.

"Not bad, for a bunch of wannabes," Drakina grits, her systems shorting out all over as she forces herself back to her feet.

"Ah, put a sock in it," Coop smirks, as the MEGAS grabs her, and holds her with her arms wide open. "Care to finish her?" he asks.

"Getter Tomahawk!" Ryta calls, pulling the weapons free, and combing them into one colossal ax.

Drakina is split down the middle, before Coop throws the halves of the titan in opposite directions.

"Time to back up the rest," he adds, jerking a thumb over the MEGAS' shoulder.

"Right," the Getter Dragon nods along with Rytas' words.

"Keep them away from the hatches!" Crystal commands, Corona Beams twisting out from her horn and ripping into anything that attempts to get below deck.

"We're working on it," Ghidi retorts, lightning like gravity beams arcing from the Ghidorah heads that have replaced her hands while she fights.

"About time you wimps show some spine," Kazira grins, her own gravity beams doing far more damage than Ghidi's.

"Zip it, space bitch!" Des snarls back, her flames doing more damage against the Simians than against the copies of Zoe.

"We need to rethink our strategy out here," Bai remarks, calmly burning down targets with her laser pods. "If we keep going like this, we are going to be overwhelmed."

The detonation of some explosives on the far side of the horde interrupts her remarks.

"Simians, with me! Golden Guard, keep them busy! Korgha, I leave this action to you," Ezra orders as she and the SSF drop down into the hole that they have blown in the upper hull.

"Bridge, this is Gaikina! HULL BREACH, say again, HULL BREACH. Hostiles have gained access to the upper levels!" she calls, as the mass produced versions of Zoe continue to try and wipe them out.

"Now that I don't have to worry about Ezra getting an ear full, I think it's time you girls heard me sing," Korgha remarks before unleashing her sonic scream.

The effects are immediate, and unpleasant for the k-girls, most notably for Crystal whose crystalline makeup leaves her particularly vulnerable to the attack.

"I think it's long past time you shut your yap," Maizy remarks, as she slams a foot into the back of Korgha's head.

"It pains me every time one of them falls, but I'm glad that they are going down," Zoe growls at Geisha. "At least they can't do any more damage in your name."

"Dream on little hero," Geisha snarls back, becoming more and more angry as each of her units falls. "All you've managed to destroy are oversized puppets. The true maidens are still with me, and even if by some miracle you win here, you will NEVER win this war. I will NEVER allow you the satisfaction of taking them back, or a final victory. You WILL fall at my hands. Just like last time," she finishes her little rant with a smirk, and another assault of her solar sword.

"Your ego was always a problem Geish. Looks like whatever they did to you when they shut you down just made it worse," Zoe retorts, catching the strikes on Great Mazingers sword. "You're a disgrace, and I'm ashamed that you where ever counted among us."

"Oh? And what would Raye have to say about that?" Geisha shoots back opening a wound that Zoe has buried so deep even she isn't aware of just how tender it still is.

"You're not worthy to even utter her name," Zoe returns her voice colder than an arctic storm. She punctuates her remark with a combination assault of photon beams, sword slashes, and kicks that force Geisha to fall back.

"Seems like I found a sore subject," the crimson war-bot grins, unleashing all of her ranged weapons at once except the fire blaster.

"Go jump in a lava pit," Zoe returns, taking to the air and raining down fire in return.

"Okay, this is unexpected," Kaze mutters, looking out at the swirling energies that are containing the Mazinkaiser.

The displays flash nonsense at her for a moment, before they all flash a stylized Z at her, followed by the message, "Final Kaiser Blade…..Access Granted."

"Time to finish this little dance," Kaze grins, knowing just what is ready for her to call out.

"Hell Blast!" the Overlord snarls, firing his black energy blasts at the energy construct. The vortex just sucks the energy into itself, letting nothing through. He follows it up with a blast of flames, and then lightning, all to no effect. "Curse you Mazinger!" he snarls. "Leave your protections and face me like a warrior!"

"Put a sock in it," Kaze retorts and the vortex tears itself apart. The Mazinkaisers eyes burn brighter than ever before as she calls, "Kaiser Sword!"

The gold emblem in the center of the fire blaster begins to shine like a spot light, as something begins to push itself free. Grasping the golden colored object now protruding from its chest, the Mazinkaiser pulls it free in a flash of light. Once the light subsides, Mazinkaiser can be seen wielding a great sword almost as impressive as the Overlords.

"Let's dance," Kaze snarls, charging toward the Overlord, her sword ready to finish things.

"Prepare to die, whelp!" the Overlord answers, meeting her charge with one of his own.

"Nice entrance. Got anything else to show us?" Gretchen asks as she and Kat pick themselves up from where the blast wave of Kera's transformation knocked them.

"Let's just shred her and get on with it," Kat mutters, yanking the blade from Gretchen's back.

"You're not taking one step past this point," Kera tells them, her shoulder cannons dropping into position, and bringing her arm mounted blade up.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," Gretchen sneers, charging forward as Kat circles to the side.

But since Kat was focusing on Kera, she misses the arrival of the other players. At least until they announce themselves.

"I'm sorry, where you going somewhere?" Katsura smirks, as she blasts Kat off her feet with a barrage of firepower.

"Are we too late to join in?" Ryta asks, as the Getter and the MEGAS arrive.

"Not at all. Sumegi, you assist Kera. We will deal with this one," Katsura orders.

"You got it," Sumegi responds, unloading the mega buster and eye lasers into Gretchen's back, just as Kera hammers her with her right fist.

"That all you losers got?" Gretchen demands, standing upright and wiping a fluid leak from the corner of her mouth.

"No mercy! Kill the humans, and capture any K-morphs you find! Children are the priority!" Ezra orders, flames liking at the corners of her mouth as her eyes glow, making her demonic appearance all the more frightening.

"Keep them contained! We can't let them get deeper into the ship!" one of the first security teams to find the invaders calls to the rest.

"Too late for that," another voice tells him, before he falls with a smoking hole in his back. The SSF commando then turns his weapon on the rest, burning them down from behind, as Ezra rushes forward and literally rips the head off the last one with a single clawed swipe.

"What took you so long?" Ezra demands.

"I thought it would be prudent to find out where our quarry is located. We will have to fight our way there, but it's still faster than searching the entire ship," He returns, gesturing to a wall display and calling up the information he had retrieved earlier. "I'm actually quite surprised that they didn't have more security around this data. It was ridiculously easy to acquire. Just more proof that humans are too unintelligent to remain in control of this planet."

"Move!" Ezra barks, her commandos jumping into action and killing any humans that they run across as they move through the ship toward the security quarters.

And the K-juniors who are waiting there with the weaker of the older girls.

"Dizzer PUNCH!" Gretchen calls, launching her left arm at Kera, while ducking to grab her Harken with her right.

"Going to have to do better than that," Kera retorts, a back handed swing of her blade deflecting the fist tipped missile.

"Hanjuuryoku Storm!" she responds, the red areas of her chest glowing as energies flare out and knock Kera into the air. Before she can follow up though, she is hammered from the side by several additional energy blasts.

"Forget that we are fighting as a team over here?" Sumegi smirks, as MG2 stomps forward and fires the Mega Buster again.

"Looks like it's a hell of a party," John mutters as the M.O.G.E.R.A. stops just short of the drop hatch.

"Then let's Crash it," Kriss grins from the seat next to him.

"Sounds like a plan," their training officer agrees, sitting in the command chair behind them. "Hit the first available target with everything you can lock onto it with as soon as we clear the hatch."

"You got it," Kriss agrees, as John ignites the flight jets and carefully lines them up over the hole.

"Fire at will!" the man yells as John drops them clear.

The only answer he gets this time, is a wave of rainbow colored energy blasts directed at Gretchen's back.

"I think it's time to launch our final strike," the General announces as he takes in how the tide of the fight is going.

"And what is that? I thought the whole point of this was to keep the girls as safe as we could, and try to keep the island from being leveled," Mandy retorts.

"And it is, but the only way we are going to keep things from getting to this point again in the near future is to take out their base," he announces.

"That is why you ordered Jura and Ginoa to stay out of the ground action unless called on," Milenna realizes. "You're going to send them to go Godzilla on their base!"

"Exactly. I hope to take it out, and remove all those resources from the field, just on the off chance that Geisha somehow survives this fight," he admits. Turning to the com officer, he orders, "Dispatch the chopper. Tell them that "Scorched Earth" is a go."

The Overlord and the Mazinkaiser meet blade to blade, both of them putting all of their considerable strength into the blows, as evidenced by the ground buckling under both of their feet at the impact.

"Why are you so quiet? You where so talkative before," the overlord sneers, as he continues to keep the pressure on, sparks dancing from their blades as they shift against each other slightly.

"Actions speak louder than words," Kaze retorts, as Mazinkaiser's belly panel slides down. "Giant Missile!" she roars as it launches, and almost immediately detonates against the Overlords gut area.

"Glacial Beam!" Kaze continues, powering through the blast, the large golden horns turning toward the Overlord and the freezing ray shooting from them.

He recovers and counters the ray with a flame blast, but takes a rocket punch in the face for his efforts.

"Most impressive, but you've left yourself shorthanded!" he grins, as he brings his blade up in both hands to crush the 'Kaisers head.

"Wanna bet?" Kaze retorts, as her fist circles back and hammers him in the back of the head, before linking back to her mech's arm.

Before he can regain his footing to continue, the Mazinkaiser has both hands on its blade, and delivers a monstrous shoulder height slash that parts the overlords head from his body.

"And that's how we handle gate crashers here on NMI," Kaze growls, before unleashing the fire blaster and photon beams into the remains.

"You heard the boss man, let's get this over with," Ginoa tells the pilot of the helicopter that she and Jura are riding in.

"Hang on girls, this could get bumpy," the pilot returns, opting to take the chopper out through one of the mech drop hatches, rather than the super brawl on the upper flight deck.

"Looks like this is about over but for the crying," Ginoa remarks, as they watch Kaze finish off the Overlord.

"_That's_ my girlfriend!" Jura grins, as Mazinkaiser turns toward where Great Mazinger is still going 'round with Red Geisha.

They manage to make it out of the battle zone without anyone noticing.

"Hey Lara!" Maizy calls as she stays airborne to fight.

"What's up Maizy?" the MEGAS girl responds, blasting another of the "golden guard" off her friends.

"I'm not much good against these things. I'm going to head into the ship, and see if I can backstab the bunch that got away," Maizy returns, before dropping into the hole and out of the fight.

"Damnit! She's going to need backup!" Gaikina snarls, having been listening in.

"She'll have it, don't worry," another voice breaks into the com net. "No one harms my students. Not while I'm still functional."

"What a disaster. I can't believe that they botched this operation this badly," Pyre shakes his head as he remains mostly hidden from the battle. "They had overwhelming force, and managed to get defeated by a bunch of old model machines and high school brats. This is worse than serving under Megatron."

Then he finally gets a signal from his tracking gear.

"Hello little one. Are you all that they sent after me?" he smiles as Phoenix rises up to face off with him.

"Pyre, you are under arrest, and are to be returned to Cybertron for trial. Surrender peacefully, and I won't have to resort to force," she returns.

"What a relief! And here I thought I was going to have to track _you_ down so I could get out of this slagging dump. The locals are just too primitive to rely on for anything but dumb muscle, and even there they are a disappointment," he tells her, his smarmy smirk appearing in full force at the last.

"You try anything and I will slag you," She warns him as she pulls a set of restraints from her storage area.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he grins, holding out his hands for her.

Just before she can lock them on, he jerks forward and wraps her in his own grip, pinning her arms to her sides, and placing a blue steal hand around her silver throat.

"Initiate the recall now, or I will take great pleasure in crushing your spark, and dissecting your body to find the device for myself!" he whisper/snarls in her ear.

"Doesn't matter, they will be ready for you when we arrive," she says, activating the transwarp recall portal.

"But you won't be arriving at all," is the last thing she hears, as he crushes her against his chest and fires his Null Ray into her head at point blank range. Her power core remains online just long enough for him to jet through the portal, before releasing her remains to float in the limbo of the transwarp space.

No one else will ever know what happened with this little story….at least not in this version of the present.

"You are beginning to irritate me more than normal, dear," Geisha grits, the failures of her troops and Zoe's stubborn refusal to go down driving her into a rage.

"Glad to hear it," Zoe returns as Great Mazinger smashes a fist into Geisha's face.

"Why won't you just _die already!_" Geisha snarls as she unloads her entire ranged arsenal point blank into Great Mazinger.

"Not bad, but you never did know how to follow through!" Zoe retorts as she jets clear of the crippled Great, and Smashes through Geisha's right optic scanner.

Geisha wipes at her face, but can't do anything about Zoe being in her head.

"I hope you can still hear me," Zoe remarks as she rips and tears her way toward the center of the titan's skull. "Because the fight is over for you."

And with that, she sets her power core as high as it will go without crippling herself, and charges her most powerful attack.

"_Thunder Break!_" she yells, the discharge causing components all around her to explode one after another as the lightning caresses them.

Geisha's remaining optic goes dark, and she slowly tips over backward, away from Great Mazinger.

"That damn good for nothing cyber slut!" Red Geisha shrieks as she awakens within her base, the other "destroyed" maidens standing around her, while the remaining ones are still off line, controlling their titans.

"Don't worry General. It's just a battle, not the war," Drakina tells her, not much happier about her own defeat, but taking the long view of things.

"She's right," Gaia agrees. "We got knocked down in the old days too, but we always came back with a better plan and showed them WHY payback is such a bitch."

"True. With you all at my side, we WILL defeat them. Even if it appears that today isn't that day," Geisha sullenly admits.

"So what's the plan?" Mary asks.

"Control? Full power to the engines. This fight isn't over yet. Full speed to NMI. If the titans can't do it, then the islands weapons will have to pick up the slack," Geisha orders. "Get it together girls, round two is just beginning.

"Mind if we play through?" Kris jokes as the M.O.G.U.E.R.A. hovers around, firing its energy weapons at Gretchen while Kera recovers, and Sumegi covers her.

"The more the merrier," Kera grits, not happy about getting suckered by an anti gravity attack.

"The speed of Getter 2 is impressive, but it's really not suited to getting hammered on from all sides, is it?" Katsura grins, as MG1, the Getter Dragon, and the MEGAS keep pounding away at her with their weapons.

"I will take great pleasure in ripping all of your power cores out, and melting them into slag," Kat snarls, as she attempts to fight back.

"Yak, yak, yak. Shaddap already!" Coop adds, dashing forward and slamming her in the face, knocking her out of the firestorm and smashing into Gretchens' back.

"I'm really getting tired of being hit from behind," Gretchen snarls as she staggers to her feet once more. "Space Thunder!" she roars, as lightning arcs out toward MG2.

"That all you got? It tickles," Sumegi giggles, as the lightning dances across MG2's skin, doing no damage at all.

"Dizzer Beam!" Gretchen continues, still getting no effect as she fires at Sumegi.

"Here, you can have it all back, 'cause I don't want it!" Sumegi grins, the belly plate sliding down to reveal the emitter for the Plasma Grenade.

The golden energy pulses slam Gretchen back, where she meets Kat in mid flight.

"Kera! Finish it!" Katsura orders.

"Ultimate, Super Heavyweight Flame Empress Slash!" Kera calls out, her blade wreathed in flames as she slams it into the pair, causing them both to detonate spectacularly.

"Nice…" Coop adds as the smoke clears.

"Sir! All opponents down!" the radar tech calls out.

"And the boarding party?" the General returns

"Still no info yet, Sir," another tech returns.

"Get on it! Those kids are supposed to be in protective care here! If I don't feel safe in this tub, then I can't expect them to either," he orders.

"SIR!" they answer.

"Nuri, this is a bad idea," Minami mutters as she and her friend root through a storage space.

"C'mon, you where just as tired of sitting on your hands as I was," the brown insectiod girl returns, pulling her upper half out of the storage area with a look of disgust on her face. "Nothing. Not even any of those crappy ration packs the military likes so much."

"Oh, I wouldn't say nothing," another voice breaks in from outside.

"Nuri…." Min says, her voice quivering in fear.

"I could just eat you two little things up," Ezra grins, slobbing a large lick up the side of Min's face as she grabs the pair and lift them by their shoulders.

Min-chan's shriek of terror can be heard three decks in either direction, and nearly the full length of the ship.

"Not good," Ginoa mutters as the chopper nears the RBA base.

"What?" Jura demands, looking where the other is staring.

The sight that greets her is the island, clearly in motion, and heading back the way they had just traveled.

"Take us down!" Jura orders.

"Are you nuts?" the pilot demands.

"You want a couple of Daikaiju ripping this whirlybird apart from the inside?" she shoots back.

"Descending now," the pilot returns, dropping the chopper toward the surface.

When they reach a height of twenty feet over the surface, the pilot levels out and asks, "Is this low enough?"

"Yes," is the last thing he gets from them as they throw the side doors open, and dive out.

"Big Mistake….." is Maizy's sole thought upon hearing one of her closest friends scream in absolute terror.

"Min!" Nami Kawa, Minami's mother, gasps as she pelts down the halls of the ship, heading for where she thinks her daughter is.

"Hands off the kids, and back off, or you _will _regret it," A voice announces from behind Ezra.

"I find that highly doubtful. After all, these little ones might get hurt if you where to try anything," Ezra grins, as she turns to face the speaker. She is slightly surprised by the array of robot animals accompanying her.

"Ms. Tina!" Min squeaks when she catches sight of her teacher.

"I'm not going to warn you again. Let them go," Tina orders, her lions spreading out to cut off any hope of escape.

Ezra counters by tossing Nuri to one of her helpers, and bringing Minami up in front of her. "You are going to call off your pets, and back off, or something unfortunate is going to happen here," she says, displaying her fangs, before licking Min's neck again.

"Wanna bet?" is the only warning anyone gets of the new player, before Ezra is clubbed across the back of the head with a rocket punch.

The impact manages to shock Ezra into dropping Min, but she can't make it past the crush of the SSF team standing between her and her rescuers.

"I'm going to rip you apart for that," Ezra snarls as she turns and glares at Maizy.

"Bring it fugly. 'Cause I know something you don't," Maizy smirks back.

"And that would be?" Ezra grins as she creates a pair of energy disks in her hands.

"That would be, that my mom gets really mad when people pick on me," Minami growls at her, tears still flowing down her face as she cowers with Nuri.

"Color me un-impressed," Ezra returns, as she draws back to throw one of her disks.

"How about I hammer you into the deck instead?" Nami snarls as she rounds the corner and leaps over the SSF to tackle Ezra.

"NOW!" Tina orders, as she and her lions lay into the startled SSF troops.

"No shit," Maizy smirks, as she lays into the pack of bad guys from the other side.

"Is it just me, or is that thing picking up speed?" Ginoa asks, as she and Jura surface after diving from the 'copter.

"I don't think it's just you," Jura returns after a moment. "Looks like the first order of business is to cripple its propulsion."

"Grab on," Ginoa orders, before diving under the waves. Moments later, her huge spinal fins cut the surface, giving Jura a chance to grab on, before she launches them both under the waves toward the island.

"What was that?" one of the command crew demands of a sensor officer.

"Some kind of sonar echo. It just suddenly appeared, and vanished just as quickly," the tech returns.

"Opinion?" the officer demands.

"Reflected engine noise, from an undersea mount," the tech returns. There are no Whales or anything else in the area, and I can't see something that big just appearing out of nowhere," the tech returns.

The officer gives him a nod, and orders, "Keep on it, just in case. You're most likely correct, but it would be a shame to let someone get the drop on us."

Then the entire base shakes as if it had run aground.

"_Oh yeah, they felt that one,"_ Jura thinks with a smirk as she watches Ginoa rip into the drives that move the island. Climbing up her body, and getting near the transformed girls face, she waves to get her attention, them points toward the surface.

The American Godzilla gives and exaggerated nod, then plucks the smaller k-girl off her head and swims for the surface.

"What was that?" Geisha snarls in barely controlled fury as the base rumbles again before all sensation of movement stops.

"Report!" she growls over the com to the command center.

"The engines have been severely damaged," the commander responds. "We are currently trying to discover what happened." There are several moments of silence before he returns, and adds, "Scratch that, we are under attack."

The alarms begin screeching moments before the next quake shakes the base.

"Sir, Satellite surveillance reports that the base had started to move, then stopped shortly thereafter," a com tech relays to the General.

"Have the MG team remain here as rear guard, and load the other Mechs back up. It's time to finish this, one way or the other," he orders.

"What about the boarding party?" Mandy asks.

"And the girls battle on the upper hull?" Milenna adds.

"Order the functioning mechs to assist the upper hull team before boarding," he orders. "Then send the mecha teams from up there to assist in rooting out the boarding party."

"Do these things ever give up?" Ghidi demands, as she blasts yet another golden version of Zoe with gravity beams.

"Need a hand?" Coop calls out, as MEGAS slams its palms down on the deck, flattening all but the units closest to the K's

"WIPE THEM OUT!" Gaikina orders, suiting words to action as she and her sisters lead the charge to finish off the Golden Guard.

The remaining copies of Zoe don't last long against the massed assault from the girls.

"You okay sis?" Kaze calls as she uses the Mazinkaiser to rip open the remains of Geisha's titan head.

"Thanks. Managed to trap myself in there," Zoe mutters as she tiredly drags herself out of the wreckage.

"How you doing?" Kaze asks, gently lifting her sister in the 'Kaisers hand.

"Powers nearly gone. I used almost everything I had for that last shot," Zoe admits.

"Then climb in, and I'll get you back to the ship," Kaze tells her, as the canopy slides open and the hand raises Zoe so she can just climb in.

Zoe nearly falls in, and Kaze wastes no time in calling for the Scrambler and flying her back to the carrier.

"You think you can threaten my daughter?" Nami snarls, as she drags Ezra back to her feet, and proceeds to slam her into the walls and floor of the corridor in a series of moves more at home in a wrestling ring than anywhere else. "NO ONE gets away with threatening my daughter!" she yells, before delivering a series of rapid punches to Ezra's face while she is still stunned.

"Get over it," Ezra snarls, blood dripping down her face as she knocks Nami off of her with her eyebeams.

"You need a time out," Maizy smirks, as she fires her plasma cannon at Ezra, knocking her toward Tina.

"Night-night," Tina adds as she delivers a spinning side kick as Ezra comes into range.

The raider hits the floor at Minami's feet, blood leaking from several cuts on her face from her mothers' assault.

"Told you so," Min mutters, as Maizy and Tina take possession of her and Nuri.

"Sir, Reports say that the boarders have been neutralized. Upper hull is secure, and Mech teams are boarding as we speak. It looks like this one is over, Sir," the com tech reports.

"Only round one. As soon as the mechs are secured, we lift. Set course for the island," the General orders.

"Sir, Mazinkaiser is requesting permission to go ahead of us," the tech relays.

"Granted. The other two might need the backup," the General responds.

The image of the Super Robot launching and leaving them behind greets them all when they look at the main screen.

"Report!" Geisha screeches into the com.

"Commander, the base is under attack by a Daikaiju!" the officer returns.

"Our lost subject? Or the freak from America?" she demands, as currently there is only one Daikaiju allowed to roam free.

"The American Godzilla!" he returns, before another explosion rocks the base, and the com line dissolves into static.

"Cyra? Spyra? Deploy. We have an unwelcome and quite large visitor that needs to be subdued," Geisha orders over her comlink.

"By your command," the pair answer, as their combat machines enter the field from their hidden hangers.

"Well this is fun," Jura smirks, as she hangs on for dear life, nestled between Ginoa's larger spines as the k-girl turned Daikaiju stomps about the island, ripping open concealed weapons ports, and generally causing as big a mess as possible.

The fun comes to an abrupt end when a huge boulder ahead of them splits in half, allowing its concealed cargo freedom to move about. Off to their right, a giant hatch slides open, and a golden Dragon themed mech rises from the depths on pillars of rocket exhaust. It lands near the other, a Kumonga sized purple armored mecha spider.

"I think you've had things your way for long enough, you sorry excuse for a giant monster," Cyra calls, her voice echoing from the golden dragon mech. "Cybersaur was designed to fight the REAL Godzilla, so it should make short work of you."

"Sure, hog all the fun," Spyra adds, her voice coming from the spider mech.

Ginoa gives them an instant display of what she thinks of them, as her spines flash green before her radioactive flame blast erupts toward Cybersaur.

Only to be intercepted by the spider.

"Did we forget to mention that the All-Terrain-Tula is proof against energy based attacks?" Spyra asks, the grin in her voice unmistakable, as the energies bath the spider mech and are absorbed into storage cells, much like the MG2's NT-1 armor.

"My turn," Cyra gloats as she fires a missile barrage from the golden mechs shoulder racks.

Ginoa is caught flat footed as the missiles detonate around and against her, knocking her to the ground, and launching Jura clear for a rough landing some distance away.

The American Godzilla is back on her feet in short order though, and roaring her outrage back at the pair of mecha.

"Cyra, see if you can bring it under control with your siren song," Geisha orders. "It is always preferable to turn your enemies weapons against them after all."

"Yes, Mistre-" Cyra is cut off as a large dark fist collides with Cybersaurs head.

"Spyra, report!" Geisha orders.

"Your lost pet was apparently along for the ride," she answers. "She just popped up and sucker punched Cyra."

"Cyra, hit them both. I want them both marching to our tune," Geisha commands.

"Okay, I've had about enough of this crap…." Jura mutters as she drags herself back to her feet from her less than gentle landing. Spotting their opponents, Jura dashes toward them, being completely ignored, since the pair are focused on the Daikaiju in front of them.

No one hears her scream of rage and pain as she invokes her most powerful ability, and suddenly shoots up to a size that is actually a bit taller than the Cybersaur.

She manages to take them completely by surprise when she decks the golden mech with a haymaker across the back of the head, which knocks it to the ground.

Jura roars in challenge at the All-Terrain-Tula, and is quickly echoed by Ginoa as they move to trap the spider between them.

Neither of the pair notice the golden mech get its arms under it and begin the process of getting itself to its feet. As the mecha spider attempts to dodge the hammering blows aimed at it from Jura, and absorbs more of the radioactive flames from Ginoa.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Cyra activates the Sonic Lure. It takes only a few seconds for Ginoa to stop her attacks and turn toward Cybersaur with an expectant air, as if waiting for directions. Jura on the other hand, drops to her knees, her head clamped between her hands, and a snarl on her face as she tries to fight off the effects of the Lure.

"Give it up girl. This design has been enhanced with technologies taken from the Leviathan, as well as the Simions. You can't fight the control signal for very long," Cyra smirks as she watches.

"Perhaps a bit of help?" Spyra asks, as a missile rises from her mechs back. After a second to lock on, she fires, injecting several gallons of cadmium solution into Jura. The look on her face seems to soften a bit as her radiation fueled powers are suddenly deprived of their power source.

"Not so tough without a full charge, are you?" Cyra grins, as Jura's posture relaxes.

A low growl is the only response Jura can give, as she continues to fight the control signal.

"Refine your secondary acoustic array, perhaps some additional sub-harmonics will help with her," Spyra offers, as she readies another tranq warhead.

Jura roars as she triggers her Bio-Electric-Pulse, the shockwave far weaker than normal. The effort weakens her further, and has no effect on the hardened circuitry of the pair of mechs other than to provide more energy for Spyra to siphon into her mech.

"Are you done yet?" Cyra asks, as she pushes Jura over, making the island shudder at the impact of that much weight.

"Commander, I believe we have them," Spyra announces over the com. "Your lost pet has become quite resistant to our control. She is still fighting it, but is currently in a weakened state. The abomination on the other hand, is standing here awaiting orders like a well trained puppy."

"Excellent. Once control is assured, bring them into the base and secure them," Geisha gloats.

Turning to the other Maidens, she is about to launch into an inspiring rant about still managing to win the day, despite their losses on the island, when there is yet another Quake, and most of them are thrown to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Geisha demands out loud and over the com systems.

"We have a problem," Kat announces, as she steps from a monitor that she had slaved to the security system.

"Damn them to the deepest darkest hell imaginable!" Geisha roars when she sees what is on the screen

The Mazinkaiser had arrived.

"And I'm telling _you_, you sorry excuse for a space dragon, that we will NOT be pulling anything on these kids to trick them into setting us free!" Goji roars at Ghidorah as the spirits of the great monsters sit in human form around a conference table in his "throne room" in the dream realm.

"You have a functioning link to the waking world; you and the bug have been "helping" them keep the lot of us here since we were trapped in this state. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH! We want out of this cursed prison!" the tall man in the tan leather snarls back, his voice having a strange echoing quality.

"Never. You will never be free to work your dark will on this world again if I can help it," Mosura breaks in, her blue eyes blazing as she glares at the "King of Terror".

"And that is part of the problem. Every creature to have visited this world has been trapped, the same as those native to it. We simply want to leave," another man with a green jacket and red eyes retorts.

"Funny, coming from someone who fights for anyone that can meet his masters price," Goji shoots back. Before the next round can begin, he slams his hand down into the table, sending cracks out from the impact point. "The conditions of our release remain the same. The humans have to do something to awaken one of us. Tricking one of our children into doing it for us is not going to happen. And if the rest of you had any influence over your own children, you wouldn't be attempting to make us do this."

"As much as it pains me to agree with this pompous pair, they are right," a powerfully built man dressed as a biker with spiked wristbands and leather, all in red, adds from the far end of the table, where several others have been watching this argument.

"I should have suspected you would side with them," Mosura adds, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Actually, I was siding with YOU," the man smirks, breaking into a grin at their looks of surprise. "Let's face it, Humans are self destructive in the extreme. If they don't set us free themselves, then they will set into motion events that will do it. Whether they want it to happen or not. All we have to do is sit back and be ready when the time comes."

"Destroyah is right. It is only a matter of time," another guy in dark grey with a spiky hairdo adds.

"Thank you," Mosura smiles at the pair.

"Like it's any surprise that Angurus would side with them," the red eyed man smirks back.

"You are wearing on my last nerve Gigan," Goji growls in warning.

"Since it seems that we have no further business here, I'm leaving," another man in blue, with several gemstones floating around his head, says as he rises, and vanishes from the meeting in a wisp of blue and white smoke.

Several others follow suit, wisps of colored smoke left in their wake.

"This isn't over. I will take great pleasure in destroying the both of you," Ghidorah snarls, before vanishing into a cloud of yellow smoke.

"Keep telling yourself that, lame ass," Goji smirks as he and Mosura are left alone in the chamber.

"They do have a point though," Mosura reminds him. "It is only a matter of time before the humans undo the spell that binds us in hibernation."

"And until then, we keep helping out the kids that can hear us," Goji nods in agreement.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are," Kaze smirks as she blasts away at ground units and weapons emplacements with the Mazinkaisers' Photon Beams.

"We need back up! We can't –" the transmission cuts off as the tank is destroyed.

"Saddle up ladies. We need to stop that mech before it ruins everything," Geisha orders, as she turns to leave the command center.

"Little out of our weight class, isn't it boss?" Drakina asks, putting the doubt they are all feeling into words.

"We have Zoe to thank for this plan," Geisha returns. "It's the way she destroyed my titan. We are too small to be targeted, but since we pack such a considerable punch, we have a chance to disable the joints, and possibly find a weak spot in that monsters armor."

"Not to mention squashed like mosquitoes," Drakina adds under her breath as they follow their general out into battle.

"How is the salvage operation going?" General Takahara asks, looking over the damage reports to the ship itself.

"Thanks to Coop and the MEGAS, both Mazingers are now back onboard," Milenna tells him.

"Sir, M.O.G.E.R.A. is requesting permission to head out after the 'Kaiser," one of the techs reports.

"We will still need a few more minutes before we can get under way," Milenna adds.

"Granted, but they need to take on a few passengers first," the General responds. "And god speed," he adds.

"Let's GO!" John yells as he brings the mech back into the bay to collect the Generals payload, before he launches their mech toward the reported location of the RBA base.

"Any injuries to report?" Dr. Tokai asks as the mecha girls assemble.

"Yeah, our leader damn near killed herself taking on Geisha again," Gaikina smirks, as the group splits to show Zoe, leaning heavily on Sera.

"How bad?" she demands, moving forward.

Zoe stops her with an upraised hand. "Not damaged, just depleted. Used up most of my power to stop her," she explains.

"I think I can help with that," Professor Yumi adds as he rolls up. "Help her, and follow me.

"The reactor? What are we doing here?" Sera demands when they reach their destination.

"She needs power, and this tub is powered by a combined Photon/Getter reactor," he answers, as he leads them over to a certain panel.

"So you're going to what? Plug her in?" Sera asks, confused at not seeing any kind of interface for Zoe.

"Not exactly. This is going to be crude, but it should work," he responds as he rummages in the bag attached to the back of his chair.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sera mutters in shock when she grasps his plan.

"Jump me Doc," Zoe smirks as she reaches for one end of the jumper cables.

"Sir, engineering reports that we may experience a momentary power disruption," a tech reports.

"Understood. Get us underway as quickly as possible," he responds, just before the lights flicker and dim for several seconds before normalizing again.

"This is safe?" Sera demands, hiding her optics behind an upraised arm.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," the professor retorts, doing the same as energy continues to flood down the cables connecting Zoe's horns to the ships power relays.

Things suddenly go dark in the bay as the glare is abruptly cut off.

"Thanks Doc, I needed that," Zoe grins, the cables gripped in her hand, and small amounts of current arcing between the high points on her helm and her horns.

"Zoe? Assemble your mech teams. I have a mission for the lot of you. Report to the mech bay, your ride is waiting, and he's in a hurry," she hears over her com.

"Understood sir," She grins, before sending out the call to the mech girls to meet up.

"General, all stations report ready to lift," the techs call.

"Helm? Best speed to the enemy base. It's time to end this," General Takahara orders.

"Sir!" the pilot answers, as he moves the throttles forward and aims the mammoth ship in the proper direction.

"Maidens? Take. It. Down." Geisha orders after the team reaches the surface.

"You heard her, Let's DO IT!" Drakina roars, as she and her sisters launch skyward, aiming for the Mazinkaisers back.

"Gretchen, once we start our attacks, you and Diana concentrate on the legs, see if you can topple it," Geisha orders as she launches herself as well.

"What the hell?" Kaze demands when she hears a clank against the back of the mechs head, but no explosive shock.

The first hammering blow against the armored canopy tells her exactly what it was.

"Let's play if you want to play," Kaze smirks, reaching up and tapping her choker, as she quickly sets a few commands into the Wilders computer. Then she goes back to terrorizing the other forces of the RBA.

"This damn mech doesn't HAVE a fucking weak spot!" Drakina snarls to Geisha as they jet around the Mazinkaiser, firing energy blasts at the joints and places where the armor overlaps.

"Mary seems to disagree," Geisha retorts, as they near the head to find the largest of the Getters hammering on the cockpit, attempting to get to the pilot.

"Got it! Kat calls, as the canopy suddenly slides out of the way, revealing the pilot.

"See anything you like?" Kaze snarls, her disguise making her look like a human.

"Yes. You should be fun to play with when I have the time," Geisha grins as she rises into view. "Take her." she orders as she turns away.

Mary reaches in and bodily lifts her from the command chair.

"No light weight are you?" Mary cracks as she pulls Kaze closer.

"I'm a lot more than I appear," Kaze counters, head butting her, and leaping for Geisha.

"Whuff!" Geisha grunts in surprise as Kaze lands on her.

"Wilder out!" Kaze yells.

The Kaiser Wilder immediately reseals the cockpit, and undocks from the Mazinkaiser, raising into the air, before jetting back toward NMI.

"Can't let you have the big guy," Kaze grins, as she forcibly angles Geisha so that her jets are aimed to slam her into the ground.

Before Geisha can dig herself out of the resulting predicament, Kaze sprints into the rocky terrain, maintaining the fiction that she is simply one of the more than human residents of NMI.

"Make sure she doesn't get to the beasts. She's obviously from the school," Geisha snarls as she frees herself, spitting out a mouth full of dirt as she stands back up. "And get some equipment up here! I want this mech stowed below until we can work out a control system for it! It's one of strongest weapons they had."

"Where are you pointy ears?" Kaze mutters as she dashes across the island, her school uniform looking ludicrously out of place as she moves. "You and Ginoa should have had every ones attention, so what went wrong?"

She gets her answer when she rounds the central mountain, and spots Cybersaur, with Ginoa crouched down near it.

"Whats the hold up?" Cyra demands, as she stomps the Cybersaur over to loom over Juras' collapsed form.

"She's too damn heavy!" Spyra retorts, as the cable claws release Jura, and retract back into their hidden bays.

"Why hasn't she reverted?" Cyra growls.

"Because she's still awake and fighting your control signal?" Spyra returns, as the missile bay on the spider mechs back opens and another injection missile rises into view. "I can fix that."

"Do it," Cyra orders, grabbing Jura and propping her up so Spyra can target her.

"Like fucking hell you are," Kaze snarls when she spots them turning Jura into a target.

She swaps out her uniform for her armor in the space between heartbeats, and is airborne at full power in the time it takes to say it.

"Got her locked yet?" Cyra demands.

"Yup," Spyra answers, as the launcher locks on for a shot over Jura's heart.

Both of them are surprised by the black and read missile that rips the launch rack off the much larger mech.

"Get your claws off of her," Kaze snarls, unleashing the fire blaster at its maximum output.

"You are going to pay for that little bug," Cyra snarls, as the damage read outs report that the heat beam managed to cripple half the actuators in the mechs left elbow assembly.

"Where is it? I can't find it!" Spyra calls.

"On your back," Cyra growls. "How strong is your dorsal armor?"

"Don't use the big guns, and it should hold," Spyra responds.

"No problem," Cyra grins, as the missile racks and smaller weapons all deploy and aim at Kaze. "This is going to sting a bit," she gloats over the external speaker.

"Jura!" Kaze yells, trying to get some kind of reaction out of her.

Her voice gets a rumble out of Jura, but the control signal and lack of energy keep her from any other action.

"Buh, bye," Cyra smirks as she fires.

"Photon Beam!" Kaze counter fires, detonating half the missiles sympathetically, but still being blasted off the All-Terrain-Tulas' back by the rest.

"Commander? I have some footage you may want to see," Cyra smiles as she com's Geisha.

"What is our E.T.A.?" the Lieutenant asks as M.O.G.E.R.A. rockets toward the R.B.A. base.

"Final approach now," John answers, as he puts the machine into a descent.

With a very subtle thump, John brings the colossal machine in for a nearly perfect landing.

"Not too shabby," Kriss smirks, as he searches the island with the robots scanners.

"This doesn't make a lot of sense. We sent two Daikaiju, and a super robot ahead of us, and the collateral damage I'm looking at is minimal. Where are our people?" the Lieutenant demands.

"Over there maybe?" Kriss smirks as a large detonation signals something happening.

"On our way," John adds, before anyone one can make another comment.

"Make certain she is offline," Geisha orders. "We're on our way."

"What's up boss?" Gaia asks.

"Revenge…" Geisha answers, before launching toward the location of the mechs.

"General, we have a contact inbound at a high rate of speed," the sensor tech reports.

"Do you have an I.D. on it?" he demands.

"Looks like the Kaiser Wilder, but it's not responding to our signals," she answers.

"Damnit, where is the rest of the Mazinkaiser? And why isn't she responding?" he mutters. "Let it land, but have a security team waiting. Ask Milenna to accompany them," he orders. "E.T.A. for the base?"

"About an hour," the helm returns.

"Very Well," he responds, stroking his chin and trying to figure out what the hell is going wrong now.

"Well that was fun," Spyra smirks, running her cameras over the hole Kaze is currently occupying.

"Too bad she totaled your launcher rack," Cyra adds.

"I'll just have to administer things the old fashioned way," Spyra grins as her mech moves forward, a large needle sharp lance extending from one side of the spider mechs torso.

Jura shakes her head violently as the mech approaches, and renews her struggling against the grip of the Cybersaur.

"Make it fast, she's getting more active," Cyra growls, pumping more power into the lure in an attempt to calm the monster sized k-girl down.

"You…..Hurt…..Kaze…." Jura rumbles, her struggles slacking off slightly as the lure messes with her head even more.

Cybersaur takes several laser blasts to the back, that make it release Jura.

"I think you have some friends of ours," the lieutenant calls over the external speakers as M.O.G.E.R.A. rolls up.

"And I think you are trespassing on my property," Geisha announces, as her team hits the allied mech in the back with a concentrated barrage of energy attacks.

"Beast, ATTACK!" Cyra orders, as she brings her mech around and points at the Silver machine staggering forward.

Ginoa roars in challenge as she charges forward.

"Commander? I think we have a problem out here," the Lieutenant calls in to the com.

"Then let's show them that they aren't the only ones who can pull surprise attacks," Zoe answers.

John meanwhile is busy with their other problem.

"Ginoa! Ginoa, it's me, John! Snap out of it!" he calls over the external speakers, while franticly backing up the mech in the face of his charging girlfriends monster form.

"What the hell?" Milenna mutters when they open up the Kaiser Wilder cockpit to find it empty, and a screen flashing the message "Bring me Maizy."

"What does it mean?" one of the techs asks.

"It means you should get on the com and get her down here so we can find out," the elder k-woman growls at him.

"Ma'am!" he salutes before rushing off.

"Sad when they make my delinquents look good," she sighs.

It only takes a few moments for the smallest Mazinger to arrive.

"You rang?" she smirks. Then she demands, "If this thing is here, then where are Kaze and Jura?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. Climb in and see why," Milenna answers.

"What the fuck?" she yells when she sees the screen.

"Voice Print Accepted," appears on the screen, followed by the canopy snapping closed once more, and the engines igniting.

"This isn't funny," Maizy yells, as the Wilder points itself back out of the bay, and launches.

"Hey short round," Kaze's voice sounds from the speakers, with some banging going on in the background. "If you're hearing this, then I had to step out and send the Wilder back to keep the bad guys from getting a hold of the big guy. The controls should be close enough to Mazinger Z's for you to operate him, so I programmed it to go get you. See you when you get here, and don't spare the afterburner."

"Slick, sis. Let's kick some ass," Maizy grins as she quickly familiarizes herself with the slightly different controls.

"Ladies? Game time," Zoe announces as M.O.G.E.R.A.s drill claws open, and the mecha girls swarm out.

"Let's rumble!" Lara yells as she blitzes Cybersaur unleashing a firestorm at its face.

"Gravion team, take the spider. Kina's? With me, we have some pests to scrape off our rides back," Zoe orders. "Everyone else? Targets of opportunity. Let's get them."

"The hell?" Cyra snarls as her scanner eyes are blinded by the firepower Lara has unleashed at her.

"You've got one of the brats from the school shooting you in the face," Spyra informs her.

"She's blinding my scanners, be my eyes," Cyra orders. An auxiliary display promptly lights up with a visual feed of Lara recklessly unloading her ammunition at the much larger machine. "I've had about enough of you," Cyra snarls as Cybersaur swats the blue armored girl to the ground.

"And I've had about enough of _you_!" Another voice snarls, as a sudden glare burns to life under the All-Terrain-Tula.

Ginoa's attack on the M.O.G.E.R.A. is fast and brutal, leaving claw slashes across its torso armor, along with several scorch marks from her flames.

"C'mon, babe, snap out of it!" John calls, franticly working the controls in an attempt to keep the much more cumbersome robot from being shredded by the giant monster that is his girlfriend.

Her answering roar doesn't give him much hope that he's getting through to her.

"John, we're going to have to defend ourselves," Kris tells him.

"You shoot her, and I'm going to shoot you," he growls his eyes flashing dangerously.

An explosion outside grabs everyone's attention, before things can deteriorate any farther.

"Looky what I found," Maizy grins as she flies across the island, quickly spotting the major super brawl, and her current target, the lifeless Mazinkaiser, with a half dozen tracked vehicles dragging it toward a large cave.

Wrenching the controls, she breaks the autopilot program, and sends the nimble little jet slicing down toward the space between the towing vehicles and the giant robot.

And the extremely vulnerable chains connecting them.

"Miss me?" Zoe smirks as she jets up behind Geisha and shoulder checks her away from the M.O.G.E.R.A.

"Several times, but my aim keeps improving!" Geisha snarls back, unloading several shots from her arm cannon to punctuate her comeback.

"You need to call this off. You're not going to win, you're just going to cause a lot of people a lot of unnecessary misery," Zoe informs her.

"Says you," Geisha retorts, activating her solar sword and charging Zoe.

"Shall we?" Gaikina asks, as the 'Kina's and the Getters observe Zoe and Geisha going at it again.

"Allow me," Vulkina smirks as she steps forward and takes up a braced stance. Her cannons drop into position and begin to charge, before she fires, calling out, "Hydroroot Cannons!"

The unexpected blast knocks all three Getters out of the air.

"Oooo, they are going to be pissed about that sucker punch," Raikina observes as they watch the other team climb back to their feet.

"Hey, you alright?" Sera asks as Kaze sits up, while Kera covers them.

With a quick shake of her head, Kaze growls, "I'll be fine. They just scrambled me for a bit with that last blast."

"I've had enough of you!" Cyra roars over the external speakers as she smashes Lara to the ground.

"And I've had enough of _you_!" Kaze roars in return, her battle mask snapping into place, and energy starting to shimmer all around her as her power booster nears its maximum output.

The next thing everyone else sees is the blazing streak of her path as she smashes her way through Cybersaurs' neck assembly, and her cry of "Kaiser _NOVA!_"

The roars from both Ginoa and Jura confirm that she hit something important on the way through.

Maizy grins wildly as she brings the wilder down between the towing vehicles and the 'Kaiser, one wing tip nearly dragging the ground as the force of the nearly indestructible metal moving at that speed snaps the chains like a sword through a kite string.

"And now for an impromptu demonstration about why you don't fuck with the Mazingers," she says. Her grin gets even wider before aiming her ship at the Mazinkaisers head, and calling, "Wilder..ON!"

The vehicles scatter like cockroaches when a light suddenly hits them when the 'Kaiser starts to move under its own power once more.

"No more chances for you guys," the diminutive cyberdoll growls, once the super robot regains its feet. "Photon Beam!" she calls, as the optics unleash their power, the whip of energy moving along the ground as she keeps the beam going while tracking the movements of the vehicles, burning each one to slag in turn.

That's when the sound of Jura and Ginoa's outraged roars reach her.

"Sounds like they have that under control, so I think I'll take a look at where they were planning to take you, big man," she says to Mazinkaiser as she guides it toward the cave.

"Looks kind of snug," she remarks when she's got the robot right outside. "Guess I'll make it bigger. Fire Blaster!"

The energy from the heat beam rapidly turns the rock around the cave molten, melting the opening larger and larger until several robots could enter at once, without rubbing shoulders or the walls.

"That'll do," she smirks, as she guides the super robot into the no longer protected interior of the Red Bamboo base.

"Mind if I cut in?" Mia asks, as several copies of her suddenly land around the Getters, and proceed to blast, kick, and stab them, before being destroyed by the Getters enraged counterattack.

"Kat, find her, and rip her central processor out," Drakina snarls, as she and Mary turn their attention back to the 'Kina's.

"Oh, shove it up your ass," Raikina smirks, as the turbines in her shoulders spin up. "Electric Death Storm!" she calls, unleashing blue lightning at the Getter sisters.

A strange set of musical tones is heard, right before several explosions erupt against the Getters.

"Who dares…" Drakina snarls, spinning around and spotting their latest attacker.

Durayga, the dragon zord girl.

"Leave them alone!" she calls, before fireing again, the miniature missiles shooting out of her hands kicking up considerable dirt and debris, but not doing much damage to the Getters.

"Piss off runt!" Drakina growls, a getter beam lashing out from above her eyes and smashing the black, green and gold girl off her feet.

"That was rude," Gaikina retorts, attempting to draw the getters attention from the weaker girl. "Zaul Geyser!" she calls, the swirling energy blast erupting from her skull armored torso.

"Please, even Gaia doesn't think that is enough to do more than annoy me," Mary grunts, as the blast splashes from her, staggering her back a step. "Now I'm going to rip your head off, and shove those horns up your ass!"

"Somehow, I doubt that," Vulkina smirks, as she steps forward, her shoulder cannons dropping down into firing position once more. "Hydro-root Cannons!" she calls, the river of energy knocking both getters off their feet once more.

"You okay?" Mia asks Durayga when she finds her.

"Been better," she groans as she slowly climbs back to her feet.

"That was really brave out there," Mia tells her.

"And stupid," she winces as she makes it back to vertical.

"That too, but mostly brave," Mia grins. "Take a minute to recover," the mecha ninja adds over her shoulder as she turns and heads back to the fight.

"Going somewhere?" Kat growls as she appears in Mia's path.

"Commander, the lure has been destroyed, and I have lost control of the beasts," Cyra reports, as she turns Cybersaur to meet Ginoa's enraged charge, and turn her leap into a throw that leaves the k-girl turned Daikaiju stunned for a few moments.

"Cyra, get out of there, the other one is recovering faster than she has any right to!" Spyra calls in warning as Jura begins to get back to her feet.

Jura roars in anger and leaps, not at Cybersaur, but past it. Belly flopping on to the All-Terrain-Tula, and driving it to the ground.

"Hey, according to the scanner, the ass end of that spider is full of energy storage cells," the Lieutenant calls as John brings the M.O.G.E.R.A. back into the fight.

"Then let's see how good a shot I really am with these," Kris grins as he brings the eye pulse lasers to bear on the spider as Jura tiredly climbs off of it.

"Think they know something we don't?" Kera asks her sister as they climb back to their feet after diving clear of Jura's take down of the spider mech.

"Well, they DO have more room in that thing for sensors than we do," Sera reminds her.

"Good enough for me," Kera returns as she readies her big guns. The gravity lens appears as she calls out, "Graviton NOVA!" The energy from her cannons hits the lens, and amplifies into a blast that could have come from one of the larger mechs.

"Cyra! They ruptured the containment cells! I'm losing this thing!" Spyra cries as a chain reaction of explosions signal the death of her mech.

Jura reaches back in, and hugs the mech to herself as the cells continue to detonate.

"Is she crazy?" Sera demands as they watch the larger mech explode in parts within Jura's embrace.

"No, she's Godzilla," Kera returns, as Jura climbs to her feet, and bodily throws the remains of the spider mech clear of the battle zone, and roars her challenge to all present.

Ginoa answers in kind as she charges back into the fight.

Together the pair move in on Cybersaur.

"Ugh. I have GOT to stop doing that….." Kaze mutters as she drags herself back to her feet, staggering for a moment as her balance wavers. The sound of the giants returning to themselves makes her smile. "Time to go make myself useful some more," she smiles as she jets back toward the party.

"And yet another of your plans goes down in flames. Are you ready to give up yet?" Zoe taunts as she and Geisha continue to duel.

"You are going to live just long enough to see everything you care about destroyed, then I'm going to slowly and painstakingly rip every single circuit out of your body, before I use your head for a cannon ball," Geisha growls in return, her solar sword flashing out again and again, always finding its path blocked by Zoes' blade.

"Not going to happen any time soon," Zoe grins, as Spyras' mech detonates, and Jura rejoins the fight in earnest.

"Surrender, you're all alone, and the girls are really eager to rip your colossal ass apart," the Lieutenant transmits to Cyra.

"Oh, shut up," She retorts over the externals as Cybersaur spins back toward the silver mech and unloads its entire arsenal with the exception of the G-Buster.

Ginoa's reaction is predictable, and brutal, as she lands on Cybersaurs back with all the ferocity of a movie velociraptor, and even less restraint.

Jura shoulder checks her out of the way, before firing her beam into the shredded armor, destroying the golden mech.

Ginoa growls at her, before moving over to M.O.G.E.R.A. and sniffing around its scorched and pitted surface.

"We're still in one piece hon," John calls over the externals, as jets flare and the mech slowly rises on thrusters until it reaches vertical and settles back onto its feet.

"Looky what I found," Maizy smirks, as Mazinkaiser rips its way through the base, blasting obstacles and automated weapons. "I think taking out the engine room should sink this shit pile back to the bottom."

It doesn't take more than a few blasts of Photon Beams before Maizy's work is done, and the coolant system is demolished with no hope of salvage or repair.

"Time to go," she announces, as she ignites the Scrambler, and rockets straight up, the 'Kaisers power enabling it to smash through the rock as the Photon Beams blaze the way.

"You two need a hand?" Gretchen asks as she and Diana move in on the 'Kina's from behind, while Drakina and Mary keep them occupied from the front.

"Not good," Gaikina mutters when she sees that the badguys have gotten reinforcements.

"Could be worse," Kera tells them and she and Sera join them, facing off with the two new arrivals.

"We've got these two," Sera assures them.

"Then let's get back to work," Vulkina says, as she unleashes her finger blasters, and micro missiles at the Getters.

"I am really getting sick and fucking tired of getting my ass handed to me by these little bitches," Spyra snarls as she and Cyra awaken in the stand by chamber within the base.

"Well, it could have been worse. At least we weren't in the mechs when they blew them to scrap," Cyra reminds her.

"You not helping," the mecha-spider girl retorts with a growl. "Speaking of which, shouldn't we get out there?"

"Negative. We are currently outgunned, and outnumbered out there. I think we are better off seeing to the escape plan," Cyra returns.

"A least this way, we get to keep all our parts where they belong," Spyra mutters as they move to load the escape vehicle with the needed equipment.

"Let them think they got us with the mechs, and we will make sure that even if the Mistress doesn't win this battle, that the war will continue. The Red Bamboo WILL rise again," Cyra tells her, a strange gleam in her optics.

"Lead on commander," Spyra grins.

"My orders are to rip out your core processor. How do you feel about that?" Kat grins maliciously as she and Mia begin to circle one another.

"I'll pass, thanks. I have plans for this weekend, and what you suggest would put a serious crimp in them," Mia fires back, doing her best imitation of a valley girl.

"Die, ro-bitch!" Kat hisses as she thrusts her drill arm forward in an attempt to impale Mia.

Mia's face turns into an "o" of surprise as the drill hits her, and she is suddenly nothing more than a puff of smoke. A half dozen Mia's appear at the same instant, each throwing several kunai at Kat.

"Here, a present for you!" they call as the blades hit, and explode.

"Your cheap parlor tricks are starting to irritate me," Kat growls, swinging around and ripping the duplicates apart, returning them to the smoke that gave them form.

"Then I guess it's time for the main event!" Mia yells as she pops up behind Kat, and slashes her in the side with her sword.

Or at least she would have, if Kat hadn't intercepted it with her battle claw.

"Time to die," Kat growls, stabbing the Mia in front of her with her drill, and when that one poofs into smoke, she immediately spins and catches the next one in her claw and pins her to the ground.

"Oof!" Mia grunts as the real her this time finds herself pinned to the ground just below her breasts.

"Oh good, you're out of those stupid doubles. Now to end this farce!" she snarls a she brings her drill in, only to be stopped as Mia's hands turn into drills and she brings them up to catch the larger weapon, sparks spitting as the cutting surfaces grind away at each other.

"I'm not that easy to kill…." Mia grunts as she puts everything she has into forcing the larger weapon away, only to discover that Kat is far stronger than she is.

"Could have fooled me," Kat grins as she bears down, and forces her weapon closer and closer to Mia's chest plate.

"MIA!" Durayga Screams as she sees what is happening.

Then for the first time, the ever present music in the back of her mind changes. Sounding like a clarion call, she suddenly finds herself full of energy, and more importantly she knows that she has a card yet to play.

"Warrior Mode!" she yells, as she slams her hand into the ground and jumps to her feet. By the time she is vertical, she is enveloped in a bright light, and the new music is louder than ever in her head. When the light fades, she is already charging, her blue and yellow boots turning up the ground, while she brings her no longer attached tail around as a spear, the drill at the tip already spinning up.

"Any last words?" Kat smirks as she begins to slowly grind though Mia's armor.

"How about 'Sucks to be you,' bitch?" Mia grins as Kat jerks upright, Dury's drill sticking out from between her breasts.

With a yell of effort, Durayga lifts the weapon, and its burden, off of Mia and slams Kats remains to the ground, before removing her weapon.

Then the music returns to normal, and Durayga slumps to her knees as she returns to normal in a quick flash.

"You definitely come through when you're needed most," Mia grins as she helps her up. Hooking an arm over her shoulder, she helps the dragon zord girl back toward the others.

"So Diana, aside from some wind, and some martial arts, why are you even on this team?" Sera asks as she keeps the Daimos girl from helping the Getters.

"Oh, you're funny. I'm going to have fun kicking your head off," she shoots back as she launches into a flying kick, and spinning into several punch/kick combinations after landing.

"Touch a nerve did I?" Sera grins, as she dodges the first kick, and winces as a couple of the punches slip past her guard.

Diana doesn't answer as she keeps the pressure on, more and more punches slipping in to land.

At least until Sera drops under a roundhouse, and comes up drawing her energy carbine from her leg armor.

"Game over," Sera grits, as she presses the barrel to the bottom of Diana's jaw.

"You don't have what it-" Diana starts to smirk, only to be cut off when Sera blows her head off.

"I'm not playing," she tells the smoking body as she turns away to help the others.

"You're not going to stop us," Gretchen growls as she pulls her harken free, and brandishes them at Kera.

"Really? I thought we were doing a fine job of it," Kera smirks as she brings her sword up.

"Harken Boomerang!" Gretchen snarls as she throws her weapon.

"Elgo STORM!" kera counters, pointing her sword at Gretchen as the tornado like blast erupts from the blade and lifts her into the air.

Gretchen attempts to counteract the effect with her anti gravity storm attack, but it becomes a moot point when Kera jets up and shoves her drill into Gretchens' gut, before smashing her back to the ground.

"Gravaton NOVA!" Kera calls, her blasts amplified through the gravity lens. At this range, and with her ruptured armor, Gretchen doesn't stand a chance.

"NO!" Geisha screams, as she witnesses Gretchen's death. She is about to dive on Kera in vengeance, when Zoe grabs her and slings her skyward, following.

"This is YOUR FAULT!" Zoe snarls on her, tears flowing down her face as her classmates kill the members of her old unit. "You reprogrammed them. YOU gave the orders that had them attack innocents! If you had left them be, they would still be alive, you conceited bitch!"

"YOUR people are the ones KILLING them! How can you stand there and blame me?" Geisha demands, preparing her next attack.

"Because it wouldn't be necessary for them to die, if you hadn't turned them into monsters," Zoe returns, jetting in and attempting to cleave her with her Mazinger blade.

"Gretch and Diana just bought it," Mary informs her sister.

"I can't raise Kat either," Drakina answers as the two go back to back against the other mech girls.

It doesn't do them any good at all, when Jura obliterates the pair with a radiation blast.

"I'm glad she's on our side," Raikina mutters, bringing her arms back down after shielding her head from the blast.

"Now the only ones left are Gaia and Geisha," Gaikina says.

"Nice of you to remember me, copycat!" Gaia snarls as she blasts the newer model girl in the back.

"Oh shut up," Vulkina snarls as she drops her shoulder cannons and lets her entire arsenal fly at the Gaiking girl.

Gaia might have been able to survive this, but she can't take the others joining in. The resulting firestorm doesn't leave more than a few armor shards of her afterward.

"Estimated time until meltdown?" Maizy asks as Mazinkaiser smashes its way free of the base interior. The display screen shows a rapidly dwindling countdown, as the diminutive cyber doll looks around for the others.

When she clears the clouds, she finds Zoe and Geisha going at it in their own private arena.

"They are all dead, and it's your fault!" the two scream at each other as they meet blade to blade once more.

Zoe spots something behind geisha and disengages their blades with a kick to Geisha's gut.

"You turned the Maidens against everything they ever stood for. You turned your back on everything we fought for in the old days. You attempted to turn the K-girls into slaves for your own twisted ambitions. You planned to wipe out the human race. You consorted with Aliens who want to take over this planet and make it their own. And last but not least, you tried to destroy my family," Zoe lists Geisha's crimes as she lowers her weapons.

"And? What's your point?" Geisha asks, wondering what Zoe is up too.

"Given time, I could probably forgive you," Zoe tells her sadly.

"Thank you so much," Geisha sneers, contempt dripping from her voice.

"I'm not that forgiving though, BITCH!" Maizy snarls, bringing the 'Kaisers hands together and reducing Geisha to the thickness of a sheet of paper.

"Nice kiddo," Zoe tiredly smiles as she lands on the 'Kaisers shoulder.

Maizy ignores the comment. "No time, we need to blow this pop stand, before it blows up in our faces," she informs Zoe.

"What did you do this time?" Zoe demands.

"Slagged the cooling system for their reactor. We need to bail on this party, and I mean ten minutes ago," she shoots back.

"Shit!" Zoe snarls diving for the ground at full boost, giving orders over the com on the way.

"She what?" Kera demands when Zoe's warning comes through.

"Everyone who can't fly, gather at the robots, and they will get you out. Everyone else, hit the wind, we need to go!" Zoe orders as she and the 'Kaiser drop back into view. "Jura, Ginoa, you two need to get to a more manageable size!" she calls, her volume set to the max so the supersized girls can understand her.

When the two have returned to human scale, Maizy picks up Jura and Durayga, while the kina's and Ginoa clamber into M.O.G.E.R.A.s claws.

"We got everyone?" Zoe demands.

"Time to fly," Lara tells her, as the remaining girls take off, the giants right behind them as they all head back to the Atragon.

"General, the operation was a success. Geisha and her generals have all been captured or destroyed. The island is currently only a few minutes from suffering a catastrophic reactor meltdown, and we are all airborne and heading your way," Zoe reports. In a less confidant voice, she reports, "All renegade Maidens have been destroyed."

"Understood Zoe. I know it may not feel like it, but Good Work," General Takahara returns, his voice letting her know that he understands what this win cost her.

"Wait, you said the base was going to have a meltdown?" Milenna demands, as she looks at the plots on a navigation screen.

"I have it on good authority that the cooling system was disabled beyond any hope of repair or bypass," Zoe answers.

"Damnit, I was afraid of that," she mutters as she brings up a file on her personal computer, and compares it to the nav screen.

"What's the problem? When the reactor goes boom, the base is gone for good," Maizy breaks in.

"How much time do we have before it goes up?" the general asks, wondering what has Milenna so worked up.

"Three," Maizy announces. "Two, One, Zero."

When her count is complete, there is a moment of silence, before the island base erupts in a bright flash, and the ocean around it begins to boil.

"Well, shit. They sure fucked that up sooner than I expected," Goji mutters as Mosura looks at him oddly.

"What now?" she asks.

"It's time," he tells her.

"Time for what?" she cocks her head.

"They just woke up my not so nice side," he answers, to her wide eyed look of shock.

"Let's just hope that he's deep enough and far enough off that it won't affect him," Milenna mutters as she works on calculating the ranges of the radiation spread, and the depth the reactor can be expected to reach before it cools.

"What are you talking about teach?" Zoe asks.

Her answer comes from behind, as a bright blue beam of energy bursts from the sea and reaches into the sky.

"Isn't that…." Kaze trails off.

"Radiation blast," Jura murmmers.

"You've got to be kidding me," Maizy says in shock.

The next few moments pass painfully slowly as they all hover and watch. The sea continues to boil for a moment before stopping, and everything seems calm.

"Just a fluke?" Kaze asks.

The sea begins to boil once more, followed by the bulge of something huge surfacing faster than the water can move out of the way.

The bellowing roar announcing his return is simply the final step in the process that they all know so well from history.

Godzilla, King of the Daikaiju, is awake once more.

"Back to the ship! NOW!" Zoe screams, making the others take off. Zoe lingers for a few moments, taking reading before following them at full afterburner.

"Get this crate in gear! I want those girls back on board, and this boat back to NMI! We need to work up a plan to deal with that thing!" The General orders.

The bridge gang jumps to it, scrambling to get as much speed as they can out of the ship while others calculate just were the big G is heading.

"Oh, dear," Eina mutters as she quickly exits the med bay and begins hunting for the other Mothra girls.

"Yes?" Mina answers her phone. "As quickly as I can collect them all," she responds to the voice on the other end, before hanging up and searching for her sisters.

"We need to talk to the General!" Jura yells as the mechs settle into their repair cradles in the carriers belly.

"Then let's go!" Kaze adds, as she and Zoe fly up to the 'Kaisers hands.

"Bring her, I'll go ahead," Zoe tells her, heading down to the deck.

"Ready?" Kaze asks, holding out her arms.

"Mom, I feel weird," Min-chan says as she holds her head.

"Me too, kiddo. Me too," Nami answers, wincing against the mental weight pressing against her mind.

"You're not the only ones," Tina tells them. "All the k-morphs seem to be feeling strange all of a sudden.

"I can tell you why," Shard announces , walking up to them.

"How is that?" Nami grits out, the pressure beginning to make her eyes water.

"I'm a telepath. I can hear them all. It's their thoughts that are causing you to feel like this. Once you understand, it should stop," she tells them.

"So what's the secret to making this stop?" Minami whimpers. "My head feels like it's going to explode."

"The monsters are awake. ALL of them. We are all feeling their minds through the link that we share by being k-morphs," The little space Godzilla drops her bombshell loudly enough for anyone nearby to hear.

"Godzilla is awake?" Nami demands, bolting upright.

And just like that, the pain is gone as she acknowledges the link between her and the monster.

The rest quickly follow along, with others going to spread the news, and the cure for the pain.

"Why are we needed?" Pyra demands, as she, her sister Lyrai, Kima, and Reina follow along behind Eina.

"Because, the fate of the world is hanging by a thread, and we have the ability to make sure it doesn't snap," the eternal Mothra morph explains as she enters a compartment to find the rest of the Mothra clan of NMI already assembled. Plus one.

"You didn't honestly think you would be doing this without me, did you?" Beatra demands, pushing away from the wall.

"I didn't think I would have to find you. I expected you to know what was happening the same way I did," the Eternal Mothra woman shoots back.

"Fair enough. I'm not used to group efforts like this, so I bow to your lead here," the dark Mothra woman returns.

"Thank you. Everyone, form a circle, and join hands," the nurse instructs.

"New age touchy feely crap," Beatra mutters, taking her place between Amorra and Mari.

"Now concentrate. Focus your minds on what we will need in order to save them all," Eina tells them, focusing her own powers .

In moments, the air in the center of their circle begins to shimmer, and in short order, a fairy Mothra, and a much darker winged creature are flying around within the circle.

"All of you together at once, huh? That explains how you managed to summon me as well," the dark rider of the bat winged little dragon smirks, taking in each of the k-morphs in the ring.

"It's amazing to see so many different representations of Mothra all together," the blue garbed rider of the Fairy Mothra says to her partner in orange.

"Yes it is, but there is an important reason for it as well," the orange one agrees. "Belveera, are you going to interfere with what we need to do?" she demands of the dark rider.

"Lara, Moll, I'm done working at cross purposes with you. I thought that was made clear the last time," She returns. "I still think Humanity needs to be cut back like a bush that is over grown, but the planet comes first, and for better or worse, they are a part of it."

"I could get to like you," Beatra smirks at Belveera.

"And I wish Battra wasn't still cheesed off at us. I'd happily work with him the way these two work with Mothra," She retorts.

"You may very well get your chance at that little one," Eternia breaks in. "Do you all know what has occurred?" she asks the room in general.

When only a few present nod, she sighs and says, "Very well. The spell keeping the Daikaiju in hibernation has been broken."

"How?" Meo asks.

"Who did it?" Beatra demands.

"Those things don't matter!" Lara calls out, barely making herself heard over the others.

"Then what does?" Pyra demands.

"Only one of the beasts is awake and active, the rest are just beginning to awaken," Belveera tells them. "The others like you are feeling the effects of that, but are already overcoming them. The problem is what has been awakened, and the best way to deal with it."

"Which of the monsters is it?" Mari asks.

"It's Gojira," Kima whispers.

The others who didn't know all stare at her in shock, before turning to the older women and the Elias.

"Yes, he's the one, and he's heading for your home as we speak," Moll tells them.

"Can Mothra help?" Lyrai asks.

"Mothra isn't fully awake yet. It would take us too long to rouse her by ourselves. By then, your island would be in ruins," Lara tells the group.

"So what's the plan?" Beatra asks.

"All of us together. Your powers, combined with our own, should enable us to awaken and revitalize Mothra in a fraction of the time," Lara answers.

"You do realize it's been ages since I've sung that song," Belveera smirks.

"Everyone know the words?" Beatra deadpans.

"We aren't ready yet. We are still missing two," Moll breaks in.

"No you're not," Battamei says as she pushes the door open, Imommu right behind her.

"How did?" Mina asks, since she made a point of keeping this from the children she came across.

"Shard told us where to find you, and that you needed our help," Imommu explains.

"Hard to hide, or keep secrets, from a telepath who wants to know," the darker of the pair smirks.

"Well, since we have the full set, let's get started," Amorra suggests.

"He's talking to the other commanders of the self defense force," Zoe tells Kaze and Jura as they rush up, hold out a hand to keep them from barging in.

"Are they really going to try the old standby plans and get all those people killed?" Jura demands.

"Let's just say those are the backup plan," The General answers, as the door opens. "Hopefully you ladies can help me come up with something better."

"We would like to contribute to the planning stages as well," Eina announces as the Mothra's flood the hall.

"Sorry, the room isn't that big. Pick two from your group," the General returns.

"Very well," She returns as she and Beatra enter behind Jura and the Mazingers.

In record time, they have a plan, and manage to implement most of it en-route back to NMI. All that is left is the waiting.

It doesn't last very long.

"Here he comes….." The various mech girls hear over the com channels, passing the word to the other k's.

"Are you guys positive you want me driving this monster?" Maizy asks, one last time from the controls of the Mazinkaiser.

"You're it short round," Kaze shoots back, as the bay erupts into the dark snarling form of the king of the monsters.

"Everyone hold your positions until ordered otherwise. Do we have an eta on our help?" the General directs and asks over the com.

"Momentarily," Lara relays for the Mothra group.

"Alright, if he comes ashore before they arrive, let him have it. Otherwise let them take the first shot," he orders.

Godzilla strides forward, his visage scanning back and forth over the cityscape. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind he finds it strange that they haven't begun attacking him yet, but he shrugs it off, and continues wading toward the shore.

Only to get blown off his feet by several energy blasts that hit him out of nowhere.

Roaring his outrage, he shoots back to his feet and faces his attacker.

Only to find more than one target.

Answering the call of their clan, both Mothra and Battra hover before the King, ready to give him everything they have.

With one last roar, it's on, with both bugs splitting off to pepper him from opposing sides with energy blasts, while his own radiation beam misses up the middle.

"I think it's safe to assume he is well and truly distracted," Maizy grins as she readies the giant robot for battle.

"Mech team….Hit him hard," General Takahara orders.

With a rebel yell, Coop lights off the second string of attacks, leaping the MEGAS up to the top of a building, and unloading any weapon he can in the shortest possible time.

"Photon Beam!" Maizy calls, as the 'Kaiser steps around the sky scrapper that was blocking it from view, sending the optic beams to smack the most unstoppable force on the planet in the back of the head.

He is NOT amused.

"Does she instinctively know the best way to piss someone or something off? Or is it natural talent?" Jura asks, as she, Kaze, the twins, and Ginoa await their turns.

"I'm voting natural talent," Kera smirks.

"I'm staying out of this one," Sera returns, as the MG's join the fun and dump almost everything they have on the big G, all at once.

"I'm going to go get into position with the others," Kaze says as she deploys her wings.

"Be careful," Jura tells her.

"I'm not the one who's going to get in his face. Come back in one piece," Kaze smirks back, before taking off.

"It's time," Sera suddenly tells them.

"We ready?" Ginoa asks.

"Let's go," Jura nods, as she and Ginoa both leap into the water from their vantage point, while the twins Combine into the Ultimate Gravion Girl.

"It is time," Eternia tells the assembled group. All the K-morphs without a ranged attack, and all the juniors other than Maizy are collected around the Mothra's, who are in turn gathered around the Elias.

"Are we sure we don't want to just punch his ticket for good? I don't think he's ever had to face so much at once," Gabby asks.

"Gojira is the last line of defense for this world, we will not kill him," Moll scolds her, getting right into her face, thanks to Fairy.

"All right, all right. Sheesh! It's not like I'm the only one thinking it anyway," the bully mutters under her breath.

Godzilla is furious at the constant barrage of firepower being leveled against him by the assembled defenders. Mothra is making fighting back incredibly difficult, thanks to keeping a scale cloud around him, causing his beam to flash back on himself, added to this is the constant pounding he's taking from Battra and the mechs.

The King is Pissed.

With a roar of defiance, he unleashes his bio-nuclear shockwave, dispersing the scale cloud, and knocking both bugs away, while making the mechs stagger back several steps.

With another roar of rage, he starts forward again, clearly intent on showing these upstarts why he is the King of the Monsters.

"Whoa, who crapped in his cheerios?" Coop mutters as sparks shoot from the dash after the pulse wave.

"That would be us, since we are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him at the moment," Kiva reminds him.

"Yeah, well I suggest moving….NOW!" Jaime screams as the dorsal plates begin to glow in that well known manner.

"Got you covered!" Sumegi calls over, as MG2 steps into the way of the blast, absorbing it and returning it through the Plasma Grenade.

Godzilla is about to charge them, when another fusillade from the rest stagger him back once more.

As he is about to lash out with his ray at the others, he is suddenly dropped from behind by a blow to the back of his knees.

Sputtering back to the surface, snarling in rage, he is brought up short as Ginoa unleashes a blast of her green flames into his face.

Suddenly everything goes quiet, as Godzilla's hide stops smoking and he stares at the upstart that just flash fried his face. With no further warning, he Charges Ginoa, clearly intent to rip the rival Daikaiju into little pieces. Mothra and Battra put a stop to that as the three of them combine their blasts to force him back a staggering step.

He is then knocked over backward once more as the bay erupts at his feet, showing yet another challenger.

Rising once more, He is surprised when his roar of challenge is echoed back at him by the new comer.

"Let's go, dad. We have a few things to talk about," Jura growls, her voice more felt than heard.

Unseen by the others, one member of the Mothra's group takes off, and rushes toward the water.

"Alright everyone. I want you all to focus on the idea of directing all your energy into the seal. Once we have managed to call it into being, we will give the word for the others to fire through it. This should give us the kick we need to knock him out and get him out of the way for a while," Eternia explains. "All of you, make sure you have a hand on one of us, and make sure you keep focused on sending your energy through us."

"We got it already. Let's DO THIS," Gilly, the green gargantuan, blurts out.

At the several nods of agreement, the Mothra's all close their eyes, and join hands once again.

"Lora? Moll? If you would lead us?" Reina asks, in a small voice.

"Of course," the pair answer in unison, before they begin to sing:

Mosura ya Mosura  
Tasukete yo te yobeba  
Toki o koete  
Umi o koete  
Nami no yo ni yatte kuru  
Mamorigami

Mosura ya Mosura  
Yasashisasae wasure  
Arehateta  
Hito no kokoro  
Inorinagara utau  
Ai no uta

The group repeats the verses twice more, and as they begin the next repetition, a shimmering white seal, the symbol of Mothra, appears in the air, between Godzilla and the shore. They continue to repeat the song, while everyone else scrambles to get into position for the next stage of the battle plan.

"Jura! Fall back, and get ready!" Kera orders, as Godzilla and Godzilla girl play a game of punch for punch, each of them staggering back from the terrific blows, before responding with another of their own.

A sudden blast of ice spikes hammering into Gojira from the left breaks the stalemate, and gives Jura the chance to get into position as the King of the Monsters spins around to face his latest attacker.

No one had ever suspected such a quiet girl of challenging the King on her own.

"Leave them alone!" the ice monster yells, the voice coming from its huge maw that of Nyuu Mew. She then hunches down, and scoops both hands into the water, splashing it at Godzilla like some kind of kiddy prank. Until the water suddenly solidifies, and is now a cloud of frozen daggers that impale the monster, and spike his rage higher still. He manages one menacing step toward the monster of ice, when his entire world goes white.

"Fire At Will!" Zoe orders, all the K-morphs possessing ranged attacks need no further prompting, as the group unleashes all their beam attacks en-mass, striking the seal again and again, until they are too depleted to continue.

"Mecha team, You're up!" she calls to the larger machines.

The resulting storm of energy burning into the seal, and vanishing is a sight to behold, as the design burns brighter and brighter.

"Jura! Finish It!" Zoe orders.

"Time to go back to sleep, dad" the g-girl rumbles, before her dorsal plates flash, first blue, then red, before she unleashes her most powerful attack on the seal. She keeps the beam going for more than a minute as Nyuu keeps Godzilla's attention.

When she finally ceases, the beam so weak now that it may as well be from her normal size, the Seal erupts, the blazing torrent of white energy slamming into Godzilla, and blasting him bodily out of the bay, and clear out to the ocean, where he slams back down over the remains of the RBA base.

Stunned, the King sinks back to the depths, wondering WTF just hit him. As the rage that kept him going in the fight ebbs, the amount of energy he expended between his own attacks, and more importantly the massive amount of healing he was required to do catches up to him, and he slumps back to the bottom, the final effect of the seal attack rendering him unconscious, until the next time some fool awakens him.

Several people look back and forth at each other for several moments, before it actually sinks in.

"WE DID IT!" several of the girls cheer at once, bringing the others around.

"Thanks," Jura groans as Kaze lifts her out of the bay and flies her back to the others.

"It's not like I don't enjoy it," Kaze laughs, getting a smile out of Jura.

"Where are they off to?" Pyra asks, as they watch Mothra and Battra go their separate ways.

"Mothra is returning home. Battra is going to do whatever he feels he needs to," the Elias answer.

"You are one crazy little cutey," Gumah mutters, hugging Nyuu to her.

"I'm sorry, but I just had to help them," she returns with an impish little smile, as she grabs the walrus girls butt.

"Enjoy your victory while you can, Mazingers. You have not heard the last of Dr. Hell…" the dark armored warrior threatens, before vanishing into the wreckage that always accumulates in the wake of a battle between giants.

"Well, that got so far out of hand it's ridiculous," Spyra mutters, watching the aftermath of their bases destruction over hijacked Spy Sat signals.

"They took down the big man…" Cyra whispers in shock. "I don't think that has ever been done like that before."

"It doesn't matter. We need time to rebuild, rearm, and secure a new main base. Let them saver their victory here. We will take what we've learned, and use it against them later," Geisha tells them, stepping from the shadows behind them. "Ask anyone who has ever tried. Red Bamboo is extremely difficult to be rid of once it sprouts," she grins, already visualizing her eventual victory over Zoe and her allies.

On the surface of the moon, deep in a crater left over from a past conflict, movement can be seen. From under a pile of desiccated corpses of an alien race, a black armored fist bursts free, the long trailing blades from the gauntlet ripping the bodies apart…

"Well, it's over. Thanks to Geisha, it's official. The second Age of Monsters, is officially under way," General Takahara announces as reports begin coming in from around the globe of Daikaiju awakening. "So far the only good news is that the space monsters are not returning. Space Godzilla reformed in orbit, and immediately took off for deeper space. Gigan, and King Ghidorah launched from the moon shortly thereafter, on separate headings, both AWAY from the planet. Aside from our more terrestrial sleepers, I think we may just survive this little disaster."

"So what now?" Milenna asks.

"We go back to business as usual," the General returns with a shrug. "Just that now in addition to everything else, we have monsters running around. Who knows, maybe it will convince some of these morons to behave themselves," he adds with a smirk.

"Only here, would this be considered business as usual," Mandy grins.

"Welcome to Neo Monster Island," Zoe agrees, getting a laugh from everyone present.

And that's all she wrote folks. Hope you had as much fun with this ride as I did…


End file.
